Emerald Huntsman
by Mr Marrow
Summary: A runaway lost at sea fishes up something impossible that quickly changes his life forever. In a world of sea monsters, watermelon people, and mutant beasts he's going to have to learn how to survive the hard way when the world becomes a more dangerous place.
1. Chapter 1: Emmet out at sea

Emerald Huntsman

Emmet Irvin woke up to the gentle lap of water hitting his feet. It was nice for a few seconds before he realized that he was in a boat. Bolting upright he looked to see his small wooden raft had started taking on water.

"No, no, no, no." He said the word like a mantra as he grabbed a bucket and started trying to throw the water out. He scooped up as much water as he could before trying to hurl it over the side. When nothing came out he groaned as he looked to see the sizable hole at the bottom of the bucket. "Why me, why is it always me?"

He got to work saving the raft. It wasn't very big and only had a few supplies but he was proud of how it had come out. Weeks of trial and error had led to him finally getting it river ready. Soon enough he had been cruising along the rivers of America at fourteen in Huckleberry style, living off the water he road and the fish he caught. Months with no problems and now the boat had a leak.

He eventually got it under control after using the one of his bowls to scoop out the water. He found the hole in the raft and patched it up with some tape and got rid of the rest of the water. With a sigh he sat down and looked around. It was a calm day on the river, with blue skies, a light breeze and gentle currents that carried the raft forward. Moments like this were what it was all about. No one to tell him what to do and no responsibilities to deal with or tie him down, just the way he liked it. He lay back and using his hands to cushion his head and looked up to the endless sky and felt his eyelids grow heavier. Things were good, no need to change. That thought and the salty smell of the ocean were the last things were last things that registered in his head before he nodded off.

The sound of waves was the first things he registered after a while. He didn't really pay it much mind, until the sail slapped him in the face. Grumbling as he tore them off and stood up he paused to look around…at the vast endless ocean, surrounding him on all sides, with no end in sight.

"Oh, that is so not good."

It had been days and Emmet wasn't having any better luck getting back to shore. The wind hadn't picked up in a while and the currents weren't helping either. He had been fishing for food and rationing water but it wouldn't last. He knew drinking sea water was a terrible idea and as he fished he thought of what he could do to survive. Maybe a ship would pass by, he could try and signal it but he didn't have anything to help with that. A fire might help but the idea of lighting one on a wooden boat didn't seem too smart. He sighed as he gripped the fishing line harder. He'd find a way out this mess somehow, he'd always managed to get out of trouble before and he wasn't going to stop now. With that thought he suddenly felt a tug on the line.

"Come to papa, he's getting real hungry." Emmet murmured as he reeled in the line. Whatever was at the other end was heavy. Emmet's stomach growled and he suppressed the urge to start drooling at the thought of whatever it was he had latched unto. With a final tug he jettisoned his catch out of the water but shouted in surprise as he was smacked in the face by something metal. He groaned as he rubbed his nose gingerly and looked down at his catch. "What the heck…" It was a freaky traffic cone looking thing. It had a black base leading to a green body and end with a hole. Looking in the hole he couldn't really make out what was inside. He emptied it out of any water and seaweed before sticking his left hand inside. It was a tight fit but his wrists were thin so he managed to get it on. The inside was sticky from all the sea water but he could feel the grooves and some bumps inside before his hand reached the end. It covered up to almost at his elbow but it was light and he could barely feel it as he swung it around. "This is so weird."

He turned it around and his finger on the inside brushed against what felt like a button. Instantly the hole closed around his elbow and the cone latched on tight. Emmet gave off a grunt in pain as he tried to take it off. It wasn't coming off though, he was starting to panic, which got worse as it began to spark and fizzle. "Oh please don't explode, please don't, please, please, please."

He only freaked out worse when the whole thing lit up with neon green lights that ran across the surface like a circuit board. As suddenly as they lit up they turned off and for a few moments everything was quiet. "…is it over?"

Suddenly there was a voice coming out of Emmet's new robot arm. "Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG…"a burst of static cut off whatever it was going to say next. The static continued until he pressed another button inside. "…received…retrieving digits…standby…"

"Wait, what?"

Suddenly there was a sound. Like a far off whoosh leading to a whistle. Looking over the side of the raft he saw that something was cutting through the waves. He braced himself for a hit but when it didn't come he looked around to find that nothing had happened. He was confused until he saw it. A gleaming green metal cylinder the size and shape of a piece of chalk and it was just…floating at the end of the robot arm. He moved the arm and it followed, instantly following the end of the arm. He passed his hand in between the empty space between the arm and its new 'finger' but couldn't feel anything. Before he could figure it out he heard the noise of something coming out the ocean nearby. Before he could look he saw that three more fingers had come and started floating around the arm. Fiddling around with it from the inside, he found that there were buttons corresponding to the fingers. With a squeeze of his hand he watched as the fingers bent and made something resembling a fist echoing he hand inside. "This. Is. Awesome!"

He played around with it, flexing the fingers and applying different pressures to the buttons. He had trouble picking things up but he felt like he was getting a good handle on it. What was weird was that there were only four fingers, there was no thumb making it harder to grab stuff. Maybe whatever aliens who built it only had four? His thoughts were interrupted when the rafted shifted violently. He struggled to stay balance before a sharp crack echoed around him and the wood underneath his feet exploded upward. The first thing he noticed was that he now had a robot thumb, which was a relief if he was being honest. The next thing he noticed was that he was now knee deep in water. The thumb had blown a hole in his raft and it wouldn't be long now before it was underwater dragging him down too.

Emmet felt that he was a pretty strong swimmer. But he was down a hand in the middle of the ocean so he didn't like his odds. Panic was setting in before the robot arm spoke again. "Digits reacquired…system…reboot in progress."

"No," Emmet cried out as messed with the arm. "No reboot, help me, now, please!

The arm stuttered for a moment. "Reboot postponed…audio controls active…"

"Can you get me out of here?"

"…escape maneuvers…emergency…activate?"

"Yes!" Emmet yelled as the water was reaching his waist. "Activate, activate!"

"Modified program activated…flight function starting."

"Flight function, what flight function?" Emmet got a sick feeling in his stomach as he saw the fingers flatten and expand. In seconds the end of his hand looked like the propeller of an old timey plane. His eyes widened as the fingers quickly began to whir and move. "No, no, no, no!"

The fingers moved fast and faster until they were a blur and Emmet planted his feet on the submerged wood. His feet had enough traction but, while it felt like the robot arm might pull itself out of his socket, he had managed to stick to the boat. With the new pull it left the water and soon he was sent screaming across the ocean using the raft like a make shift surfboard. He could barely keep the arm straight. It kept careening off to the side sending him off in another random direction. He nearly managed to get it under control before it happened. It suddenly faced upward and before he could move it again he was sent flying into the air.

He'd like to say he handled the change well, that he managed to control the propellers and made a smooth landing back on the raft. In reality in-between screaming, wind in his face, salt in his eyes and almost fainting several times he barely managed to see the landmass coming up in the distance. "Stop, stop the flying!"

"…propeller…initiated…protocols?"

At this point he had been flung around the air so many times he was starting to get whiplash and a heavy case of nausea. Before he knew it he suddenly felt his feet skimming the water. His toes skirted the edge of the ocean surface and he realized that if he hit it at that speed he might as well be chum at that point.

"Whatever! Just please stop!"

With that the propellers didn't stop turning so much as instantly returning back to their finger forms. That meant for a few glorious moments he was cruising through the air completely free on pure momentum. Which was just before gravity reared its ugly head again and he was sent tumbling back into the water. He plummeted down into the waves and as he sank he realized that at some point he should be seeing his life flash before his eyes. So that was probably going to suck.

Before he got the chance to relive his mistakes there was a sudden push and he was sent hurtling through the water. There was a small part of his mind not desperate for air or internally screaming that registered that he was being taken by a strong underwater current. His hands desperately scrambled for something to hold unto before he suddenly stopped. The current was still pushing against him hard but he realize that the robot arm had latched onto the ocean floor nearby. Pulling with every bit of strength he had left he broke free of the current and eased his hand inside the arm to release its grip on the…sand? He guessed that the fingers must have embedded themselves in the sand and whatever thing connected them to the hand had managed to be strong enough to pull him out of the current. More importantly though it seemed like the ocean was getting shallower, as he reached the surface and gasped for air he saw a shoreline nearby.

Using the robot arm didn't seem viable at that point so he swam with his one regular hand and legs. It was slow going and took no small effort but he eventually made it to land. With one final heave he threw himself unto the sandy shore and just lay there gulping in as much air as he could. Everything hurt, his eyes burned, his lungs felt like collapsing and he was pretty sure he had broken some bones, but he was alive. He turned over so that he lay on his back and began to laugh hysterically. He was alive and had a robot arm, like…what?

The exhaustion finally caught up with him and he could feel his vison but as it blurred and blackened he spotted some figures at the edge of his peripherals standing over him. The hope that they were friendly, the salty taste of the ocean and the smell of….watermelon, huh, were the last things were last things that registered in his head before he completely passed out.


	2. Chapter 2: Emmet and the Watermelons

The first thing Emmet felt waking up was a splitting headache and a wave of nausea. He opened his eyes and tried massage his head but after a few seconds he realized that half his fingers were metal. He jumped to his feet surprised and looked down at his left hand. Everything that had happened came flooding back and he instantly remembered what had led to him ending up in this…hut. Looking around he saw the circular walls were made of a white mud, cracked in some places and dripping in others. The ceiling was circular too and made of some kind of straw. The door and windows were just holes in the wall, and they were small. Emmet was average in height, but the door barely reached up to his chest. Looking down at it he felt a nice breeze come through, and then he was instantly aware of something. His clothes were gone.

He quickly realized he wasn't naked but looking around quickly he saw that what he had been wearing was tucked away in the corner. What he was wearing now was straight out of a Tarzan movie. He had a shirt and…what looked like a kilt wrapped around his body. Both were made out of leaves and looking at where he was sore the most he saw he also had vines wrapped in some places like medical gauze. He wanted to get changed but when he picked through his wet dirty clothes he found that they were torn up and near unwearable. His flight through the ocean had messed up his wardrobe pretty badly. But that brought out more questions when he realized where he was standing. Where was he, and who had helped him?

Just then there was a crunch behind him. Whipping his head around he turned only to see nothing. He was confused until he felt a tug on his kilt. Looking down nearly caused his eyes to pop out of his head. "What." It was…a watermelon boy. It was a watermelon, in the shape of a boy, about waist high, staring blankly at him with its watermelon seed eyes. It had a zig zag mouth and stubby limbs. Its hands were like mittens with no fingers but it had thumbs. It was colored like a regular watermelon, and when it opened its ragged mouth he could see that it was pink inside too, and absolutely full of seeds. For some reason its head looked bumpy and malformed, like the watermelon had some kind of weird perm.

"What, what are you?"

It seemed to 'speak' in a jumbled series of grunts and mumbles. It went on excitedly and grabbed his flesh hand, before he could protest he was dragged outside into the blinding sun. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust but when he could see his jaw nearly dropped. In front of him was an entire village of watermelon people. They came in all sizes, but they all had the same identical shape. He jumped as something barked nearby and he looked to see a watermelon person playing with a watermelon…dog. While another watermelon person was busy dealing with watermelon chickens. As the watermelon boy dragged him forward he realized that the only way to deal with this was to just sort of roll with it. He had a robot arm and was surrounded by sentient watermelons. But they seemed to have helped him out so he figured it would be fine to repay them by not freaking out.

As he was pulled forward he got plenty of curious looks from the villagers. The little watermelon boy didn't notice though, and he didn't stop 'talking' until they reached what looked like the village center. There an older looking melon person was in front of a bunch of younger looking ones leading what looked like some kind of prayer in front of a stone watermelon person statue. They closed their eyes and raised their arms palm up to the sky for a few moments. Looking to his side Emmet noticed that his guide was doing the same. After a few seconds they stopped and simultaneously all turned to him. The sheer number of eyes on him caused a blush and Emmet rubbed the back of his neck shyly.

"Uh, hey everybody," he cringed at the way his voice cracked. "Um, thank you, for you know…helping me out."

Suddenly they all started smiling and speaking animatedly. He felt a pat below and saw his guide give him a wink and a thumb up. Soon they were joined by the whole village. Everyone was talking excitedly before being hushed by the elder melon. He spoke a few words and everyone nodded before opening a path towards the outside of the village. Emmet's guide walked forward before stopping and gesturing for him to follow. Without anything better to do he did. Together they ventured out of the village into the surrounding jungle. Weirdness aside, Emmet had to admit it was a beautiful place. The trees were lush, the grass was soft and the caves they passed were filled with hat looked like geodes causing them to glow beautifully. Eventually they reached the beach and if he hadn't had just come from a village of watermelon people he'd say what he saw there would have been a crazy sight. It was his raft, sitting there at the edge of the surf.

Granted, it had seen better days and would start sinking instantly the moment it touched the water, but it made Emmet feel lighter just by seeing it. Also a little proud, considering all that had happened it was a miracle of construction that it was still this well intact. Walking up to it he ran his fingers along the sides before sighing. It would take forever to fix the thing.

Some grunts and mumbles brought his attention to his guide who stood beside him looking at the boat thoughtfully.

"It's all sorts of busted up," Emmet said sadly. He didn't even know if the watermelon person could understand him but it felt good to talk. He hadn't spoken to another living…person in months. "It might take months to get it sea worthy again."

His guide looked at him confused before gesturing to the island and giving him a confused set of grunts. It took a few moments for Emmet to catch his meaning.

"Oh I can't stay here, I gotta go out there." Emmet said pointing out to the sea. "I'm a free man, going where the wind and the waves take me." Sure the island seemed like some kind of freaky paradise, but he never really felt the need to stick around anywhere. Laying down roots meant that responsibilities wouldn't be far behind, and that was no life for him. Besides, he had to find someone willing to look at his new robot arm. Maybe he could find some way to get it off. "I'd like to stay, but the winds a calling me."

His guide looked like he was mulling over the words and after a few moments he walked away back into the jungle. Emmet frowned and sighed, he was disappointed but not surprised. These watermelon people had helped him out and he had responded by saying he was going to ditch him, he felt like a tool but it was what it was. He got to work checking out the damage to the raft before hearing something shuffle behind him. He turned to see that his guide had come back. Trailing behind him was a large leaf with a bunch of other things piled on top of it.

Emmet just picked through the pile of vines and pieces of wood stunned. "Are these all for me?"

His guide just grunted approvingly with a thumb up. Emmet didn't know what to say.

"Thank you…" he hadn't really had anyone help him like this before. He'd always had to do things on his own. When one avoided responsibility they had to deal with the fact that people wouldn't really go out of their way to help with that. But here was a watermelon boy who was helping on top of everything he had done already, just because. "I appreciate it." He sincerely meant that.

His guide's cheeks seemed to darken and he just waved off the words embarrassed. He picked up some materials and lifted them above his head before yelling excitedly. Emmet couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah man, let's build a boat!"

And for the rest of the day that's what they did. Emmet got a lot of practice with his new hand. It was surprisingly good for tying knots and could grip anything no matter how slippery or small, which made raft making way easier than it had been the first time. Occasionally another watermelon person from the village would drop by to check things out before heading back but for the most part it was just Emmet and his guide. They spoke, well as much as they could, and while his guide talked animatedly about something or other he spoke about his travels. Heading down rivers and living off the land free as the day he was born. Somehow he got the sense that his guide understood Emmet way better than Emmet understood him but he brushed off the feeling and kept working. Eventually it got dark and the two were forced to head back. Emmet wanted to keep working but he knew how dangerous it was to do this kind of thing exhausted and in the dark. He had learned that lesson well enough the first time he had built the raft.

Back in the village he sat with his guide in a circle of all the villagers as they passed around a bowl. When it got to him he found that it was fresh water. He figured that if watermelons ate anything it would be that. He drank but as his stomach grumbled he realized he'd need more than just water to survive. Luckily the others seemed to have thought of that too and he was brought a bowl of fruits, thankfully none of it was watermelon. He ate hungrily as the elder entertained everyone with stories and they cheered him on before everyone went off to their different huts. Emmet's guide took him to his and waved as he split off to go sleep. The next morning they met outside his hut and went back to the beach to work on the raft some more.

The next few days followed this routine. Where he woke, worked on the boat with his guide, headed back, ate and then went to sleep. One day though he noticed that one of the villagers was having trouble keeping their weird watermelon chickens in line. They tried sweeping them back into place but they kept wandering off. So when they returned that night from the beach he presented the chicken farmer with a small fence.

"It's not much but it might help." He had made it from some left over wood from their material pile. The farmer was ecstatic and shouted excitedly as he ran off with it. The next morning he waved at Emmet and his guide as they walked past the next morning. Some watermelon people came up to them talking with his guide and pointing to the fence. It looked like they wanted to learn how to make fences too. So when the watermelon boy looked at him with a pleading look Emmet just shrugged and asked for more material. It was the least he could do.

So he spent the rest of that day teaching the village how to build things using wood. Fences, chairs, and they even managed to get a cart in the works. He had read tons of books on woodworking and crafting when he started building his raft. He'd memorized most of it, back then it was all he could focus on. By night the whole village had a good grasp on the craft. And by the next morning they had a few more volunteers to help with the raft. So many that Emmet actually found the time to take a few breaks, he used them to try and learn more about his arm.

"…protocols…in charge mode…"

"C'mon give me something. At least tell me what you're made of."

"…protocols…charge mode…"

Emmet almost screamed in frustration. The thing would just not cooperate with him. It had been charging for days, he was thankful that the fingers still worked fine but it would be nice to learn a little more about the metal currently stuck on his arm. He decided to give up on it for the time being and looked back towards the raft area. The others were hard at work, but his guide wasn't there. He didn't really know when he'd started to be able to differentiate the villagers by sight alone but it had come in real handy. Especially, now when he was looking around with no sign of where his friend had gone except for some footprints leading off into the jungle. The sandy footprints turned to mud and Emmet followed them to a rocky cove. His guide sat at the edge of the stone looking out to the sea with a far off look in his little seed eyes.

Emmet approached and he was about to call out to his friend before realizing he had never learned his name. He'd just thought of him as his guide the entire time. The thought made him feel like a jerk. He sat next to his little buddy and together they looked out to sea.

"Nice, isn't it. How big it all seems. How big it means the world must be." As he said the words he could see his guide nodding lightly. The little guy gave a small sigh, Emmet didn't know if watermelons needed to breath but he understood the tone well enough. It was the sigh of someone who wanted to be free. An idea popped up in his head. "You know the raft is almost done." His guides head dipped down a bit sadly as he nodded. "But the ocean isn't anything like river sailing. It's way more dangerous, especially for someone alone." He saw his friends head perk up a bit and couldn't help but smile. "I mean a captain needs a first mate you know. Every skipper has to have a right hand man…or you know watermelon boy to help out. Can you think of anyone interested in coming along?" He didn't know how he would explain a watermelon boy or what his needs would be but they were friends, and he had helped out in making the raft enough to earn a spot on it.

His guide raised his hands and grunted enthusiastically as Emmet chuckled. "Alright, fine you can come. You'll be my number two." Hey how was that for a title? "I'll be the captain and you'll be my faithful number two, how about that?"

The newly minted number two shook his head so enthusiastically that Emmet thought his little melon head would just toll off. He quickly found himself being hugged around the neck, hard.

"Ah," he gasped out, for a melon number two was crazy strong. "Number two let go, can't breathe."

Number two let him go and Emmet gasped for breath for a few moments as his little friend danced around a bit. The moment ended though when the sound of a gong rang out over the jungle. He recognized it because he had helped make it. Earlier that week one of the melons had brought something that looked like a shield. Together they had made a gong they had placed at a hill overlooking the village. He hadn't heard them ring it since it had been built, so whatever it was they were signaling must have been important. Looking over to Number two he saw that he looked…resigned? It was weird and he acted like that the whole way back to village. They met up with some other villagers who acted the same way. It was really starting to freak Emmet out.

When they all reached the village everyone gathered in front of the statue in the center. There the elder stood in front of the crowd and shook his little staff Emmet had helped craft for him. With a rattle everyone closed their eyes and began to touch their noses. He felt a small hit and looked down to see Number Two urgently poking is nose.

"Oh!" Emmet quickly did the same and soon everyone had done it. All except one who scurried into the crowd covered in dirt and sand. Emmet remembered him from the raft crew, slow mover but friendly. He looked around erratically before realizing he was the odd man out and looked down sadly. The elder pointed his staff at him and with a nod the others moved into action.

It was quick but a within a few minutes the chosen villager had a flower crown place on his head and a golden star painted on his chest. The other villagers rushed to hurry as a sort of tremor echoed throughout the island.

"What is happening?" Emmet asked number two, but the little melon just stayed silent as the others finished up and guided the chosen villager away. Number two followed and Emmet was right behind him. They watched as the chosen villager sat on top of a small throne and lifted on sticks by a few others. Emmet had also helped build that too, it was weird but he figured the elder had needed help getting around sometimes. Clearly that wasn't the case.

They followed until they reached one of the geode arches at the edge of the island. They went under and the chosen villager was let down, the others ran back behind the arch as the chosen villager walked to the edge of the cliff and stood there arms out and palms up. Before Emmet could comment on how weird this all was another tremor rocked the island, this one strong enough to nearly cause him to fall. It was weird but before he could register anything it happened.

He felt it before he heard it. The tremors started and they didn't stop, before long he heard the crash of water and the sound of water rushing of something, something big. After a few moments something rose above cliff face. It was white and flowing, after a few terrifying seconds Emmet realized that it was hair. It was covering dark green skin and as whatever it was loomed over the chosen villager he could see that it had eyes. It had so many giant eyes, green as its skin and bigger than his torso. And they were all looking in different directions, either looking pained or sleepy. But one locked unto the lone villager the other followed and zeroes in on him. Its pupils dilated with such…hatred. With a horrible roar it lifted its gigantic arms and Emmet could hear the clinking of massive chains. It was cuffed at the wrists by….water? He didn't to really see the extent of the chains before another roar rocked the area.

"Steven." It spoke, for a second he thought it had been another roar but he had recognized the word as a name. Who was Steven? And what had he done to make whatever this thing was so angry? With another roar the sea beast charged forward mouth open and devoured the villager whole. Then as soon as it had come it returned to the ocean, leaving Emmet completely stunned and the other villagers waiting in fear. After a few minutes they walked away back toward the village. But Emmet was stuck in place, still processing the existence of a living sea monster that ate living watermelon sacrifices. He barely registered that Number two had grabbed his hand and was pulling him towards the village.

Number two dropped him off at his hut and split off leaving Emmet to lay back and look at the ceiling while replaying the day's events in his head. He didn't get any sleep that night.


	3. Chapter 3: Escape from Watermelon Island

The next morning their work was done in silence. No words, no comradery, just a job to get done. The mood didn't help Emmet's thoughts as he just kept replaying the ceremony over and over in his head. There were no calendars on the island but from what he could tell he'd been there nearly two weeks. Meaning that in two weeks he had gotten a robot arm, been taken in by a community of watermelon people and watched a sacrifice to an angry sea goddess. It had been the most intense two weeks of his life and it still wasn't over yet.

When he had gotten on his raft and floated his way down river for the first time he thought that he'd be like the No Home Boys. Just him and his raft, free to go where he pleased, he hated trains though so he had picked the river over the rails. But he doubted that in any of the books the No Home Boys had become cyborgs or seen Cthulu. If they had then they had to be amazing books and if he ever got off the island he'd buy them as soon possible.

Number Two was in as bad a mood as he was. Just doing the work with none of pep he had gotten used too. It made him the more determined to get off the island together. To set sail and never look back, maybe even send some help. But he doubted anything on earth could fight whatever it was lurking in seas around Watermelon Island. He decided to just focus on building the raft, just the raft, nothing but the raft. Where was everybody?

The one moment he decided to not solely focus on the raft he saw that he was alone. They had ditched him? Whatever, it was done anyway. He didn't even feel like celebrating, looking out over the horizon he saw a rapidly approaching storm that matched his mood. It may not be smart but he just wanted to leave already, he'd just head back to the village say his goodbyes before grabbing Number Two and getting out of there. But when he reached the village though a cold feeling rushed through his body and chilled him to the core. Everybody was in the center again. When approached they all turned to him, hands touching their noses. He realized he was the only one not doing the same. Fear grabbed him and his heart hammered like a drum in his chest. Would they sacrifice him now, leave him on that cliff to be eaten by that monster? He felt the need to run, but where? There was nowhere to go. He doubted he could make it to the raft before they caught him.

The elder came out of the crowd. His staff pointed at Emmet and he stumbled backwards before falling. There he lay surrounded by the villagers all giving him a solemn look as the elder nodded. But before anyone could move to grab him something moved in front of him. It took him a moment to register it as Number Two. He just stood there, before the whole village and lifted his arms high, palms up. The elder seemed to look at them both before pointing his staff at Number Two and nodding. As the others converged on his friend Number Two just looked back sadly and gave him a small wave before he was blocked from sight by the others.

It happened so quickly and when Emmet was finally able to focus again he just stood and ran. He ran away from the village, away from that monster, away from his friend…

"This is so freaking unfair!" He didn't yell to anyone in particular. He just roared out the words and screamed as he tore his way through the forest. He was scratched several times and even fell some of the way but he kept running until he reached the beach. He slammed into the raft and pushed it with all his might. A small part of him realized that moving it should be impossible. It was way too heavy and nowhere near the surf. But with a whir he realized that his robot arm was doing most of the work and soon he had gotten the raft out into the water. He hopped on board and focused on unfurling the leaf sails. He tried not to think about the fact that his friend would be eaten with the hour. When a tremor hit the boat he realized it might be even sooner.

He gave up on the sails and just sat down. He shut his eyes but as he did he just thought about how Number Two was helped build the raft he sat on. How they spent every day working together, laughing together, how they had just spent the time being friends. It was nice. But it wasn't his responsibility, Number Two had made a decision and he was going through with it. He had nothing to do with it. He just wished he didn't feel so terrible about it all. Another tremor rocked the boat, harder this time. He ignored it and just sadly looked at his robotic arm.

"I don't suppose you could help."

The arm came to life with a burst of static. "…recharge failed…minimal…recharge."

"Thought so, it's not like you had some kind of sea monster cannon in you or something."

"…cannon….modified mode….activate…"

Suddenly the arm came to life and the fingers changed. They moved so that they fit along the black edges of the arm aiming inwards with one remaining outwards in the center. It was the index finger and as he fiddled with the button inside it sparked and charged. He stopped before he blew a hole in anything and just took in the sight. His hand was now a gun. A hand gun, no wait, hand cannon. A cannon that was also his hand, a weapon. This was amazing. As another tremor rocked the boat he realized that not only was this amazing, it was exactly what he needed. He unfurled the sails and quickly aimed the raft back towards the island. The storm winds were favorable and soon he was riding the waves along the edge of the island at breakneck speeds.

"Don't worry little buddy, I'm nearly there." He quickly turned the raft towards the bay where the monster rose from. She was already there, chains wrapped around her arms and torso rising menacingly above the water like an angry myth come to life. From that distance he could barely make out the golden star off of Number two's body shining in the rapidly covered sun. It began to rain and thunder rocked the air. But even then he could hear the monster wail over the storm.

"Steven."

He knew what was about to happen, and he wasn't going to let it. "Hey, you old sea hag, look over here!" He roared with all his might. Any other time he would have been glad for the storm and the sound of the surf covering up his voice, getting that things attention was not a good idea by any stretch of the imagination. But as he saw his friend look over at him in surprise he realized he had to shout harder. "Hey, let me get a good look at you before I shoot you!"

"Huh?" The monster had heard him and turned. It was looking at him and his boat in complete confusion. Perfect. He activated his new arm cannon and took aim. His dad had taken him to a shooting range when he was ten. To this day he had remembered his step by step instructions as if he had told him that day. Breath in, breath out, aim and pull the trigger on the exhale. He breathed in, ignoring the rain that had begun to shower down and just focusing on the salty freshness around him. He breathed out, releasing his fear and focusing on the moment. He pressed his index finger inside the robot arm and with a few seconds charge it fired. The shot was instant, looked like a beam of pure light, and it kicked like a horse. Emmet was thrown backwards and the whole raft shifted as the light shot flew through the air and hit the monster directly in one of its horrible eyes.

It screamed in pain before falling into the ocean. He watched it sink into the water and looked at the spot blankly. "I did it?" All the fear and panic came up at once and he felt like vomiting. Instead he just laughed hysterically and raised his arms up in victory. "I did it!" He whooped in celebration before a roar split through the air. "Oh, oh that's not good."

The monster broke through the surface and fixed all of its remaining eyes on him. They didn't look happy. "Little insect, I'll eat you!"

At that moment Emmet realized that he had never really known fear. Because literally nothing in his life could ever match the sheer terror of having a living sea monster the size of a building come at him like a tidal wave. The panic nearly froze him but his sheer desire to live got his body moving.

"Hand, propeller hands now, now, now!" He shouted at the robot arm. He couldn't even hear what it said over the roar and clap of thunder that came as the monster drew closer. It was nearly on him before the propeller function started up. He jumped as hard as he physically could over the edge of the raft and let the propellers lift him into the air just as the monster plowed through the area. He didn't want to look down, partly to avoid looking at the remains of so much time and effort, mostly to not look at the monster right on his tail.

He flew forward and up the cliff face, he used his feet to go upwards faster as the roar of the monster rocked the area. When he reached the top he saw that Number Two was rapidly running back and forth in panic the others were hiding and looking terrified as well. He didn't have time to think about them. He just grabbed Number two's hand and jumped upwards, sending them both soaring into the air. Together they flew over the village, the others running around in panic. He felt kind of bad about that, but he was pretty sure would feel worse being caught by what was chasing him.

"Steven!" There was that name again. This Steven guy must really be some piece of work. Emmet felt relatively safe in the stormy rainy filled air, looking behind him though he saw that the monster was roaring at them from the ocean. Her chains held her down as she just screamed at them, hatred practically oozing from her eyes. "I will find you, and I will eat you whole! Steven!"

"Hah, good luck with that sucker!" Emmet didn't really know what possessed him to say that. It wasn't like she could hear him from that far away. But it felt good to say, and he needed a win. Looking at Number Two he saw the melon shake its head. "What? We're fine, not like she can get us from all the way over there. Everything's coming up Emmet." Which was about the moment that lightning struck him.

It happened so quickly that he didn't even register that he had somehow survived being hit by lightning. What did register was the fact that the propellers had stopped working, and that Number Two and him were falling through the air. "Propellers activate, activate! Come on!"

They suddenly whirred back to life, but not quickly enough to completely break their fall. Lifting Number Two up he shielded his friends body the best he could as they crashed through the jungle foliage. The propellers suddenly got tangled up in some vines and the Two were sent tumbling though the air. He managed to back first on a muddy hill, so most of the force was safely broken. The momentum though sent Number Two and him sliding across the floor. He felt plenty of rocks and branches on their way before he finally skidded to a stop.

"Ugh, anyone get the number of that truck that hit me?" Emmet groaned as he sat up. He groaned harder as he was suddenly crushed by a hug. "I get it, I get it Number Two, please let go. I think might ribs might be broken."

Number Two let go but that didn't stop him from skipping around and talking excitedly. Emmet watched him go and chuckled as the little melon reenacted the rescue. But as he went on he realized how bad the situation was now. No boat, the village probably hated them now, and he had personally made an enemy of a giant sea monster. It had been a busy day. Plus he was pretty sure that he had been struck by lightning. Lightning! By all movie logic he should have super powers, but all he felt was cold and bruised. "This bites." He said as he lay back groaning. He regretted it immediately as his head hit something hard. He rubbed his head gingerly as he looked behind. "What the…" It was some kind of stone pad. It was made of a weird sort of gem, but unlike the geode caves this thing looked like it had been expertly cut. He stepped on top of it and the arm suddenly came to life.

"…charge….fully…pad ready….warp…"

"Wait, warp? This thing can get us out of here?" He turned to Number Two excitedly only to see him looking out towards the forest. He could make a fair guess as to what he was looking towards. "Hey, Number Two, we need to go." When he didn't move he walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. His friend turned to him, sadness in his eyes. "I know you want to go back, but I don't think they'd let you off the hook so easily after our little escape. They'd probably put you right back on that cliff as soon as you got back. Look, I know this is all just…just a huge mess. But sometimes…sometimes you just have to run away." Number Two didn't look any happier, but he also didn't resist when Emmet picked him up and carried him under his arm towards the pad. He could hear the sound of something coming towards them in the distance and what sounded like hissing? It didn't matter though.

"Arm, get us out of here."

"Warp pad…prepare…activate…"

Suddenly the pad was enveloped in a light, and in moments Number Two and Emmet were gone.


	4. Chapter 4: By the Pricking of My Thumb

When the light finally subsided Emmet opened his eyes to see that he was surrounded by stars. The sky above him was absolutely covered in them, an inky black void lit up by hundreds of lights. As he stepped off the warp pad he saw that he was on top of some kind of tower. Dozens of other pads surrounded him, one particularly big one was raised in the center but that one was smashed to pieces. Walking to the edge he could see the ocean lapping at the structures base, it stretched out into the distance as far as he could see. When something squirmed under his arm he noticed that he was still holding Number Two.

"Oh sorry," he let him down and together they explored the tower top. "Man, this place is pretty isn't it? Number Two?" He looked over to see Number Two sadly kicking a rock over the edge. Emmet sighed before walking over and sitting on his haunches. "Hey little buddy, you still thinking about home?" It made sense, everybody got a little homesick, even if everyone in their home tried to sacrifice them to an angry sea monster. A sea monster that would probably keep eating his people, probably someone else Number Two had known now that he was gone…oh. Alright even he had to admit that the situation wasn't ideal. In fact, it might be completely terrible. Whelp, there was only one way to fix things for everyone.

With a clap of his hands Emmet startled Number Two and stood up fully. Looking down he gave his melon friend a confident smile. "Number Two, you are absolutely right." When all he got was a blank stare he knew the melon was confused. "What we did was kind of a jerk move. Sure we survived, which is a definitive plus in my book, but that monster is just going to keep eating your people until it runs out…probably…look I'm not an expert on sea monsters. I don't even know what this freaky thing on my arm is. But that is why I say we go find out."

Number Two just tilted his head and mumbled something out confused as he scratched his head. Emmet got his meaning.

"Why, you ask? This thing turned into an amazing laser cannon and saved both of us from that monster. Whatever it is, its crazy strong and if we can find the person who built it, or at least someone who tell us what is, then maybe they can help make us something strong enough to fight that monster." They might the only person on earth capable of making something like that. If they even were from earth. The idea made his head hurt.

Number Two just stared at him for a few moments, watermelon eyes widening before he started to shake and jump up and down. He started smiling for the first time in days. It looked like he finally had hope. Sure his village was full of sacrificial jerks, but it was his home and his people. Thinking about it they'd also tried to kill Emmet though, which was an incredibly rude thing to do to a guest. But they'd also helped him out, which evened it all out more or less. So he couldn't really have any objections to saving them all.

"So no more being sad my little friend, I'm going on an adventure. Can I count on my Number Two to tag along?"

He got a small cheer at that and with a hi-five the two were back in business. "C'mon Number Two, let's go look for a magic alien engineer, build a monster hunting weapon and save your people!" With that they both ran towards the pads, before stopping and looking around. "…which one did we come in on?"

"Call up, start mobilize, start, stimulate, start, switch, on, trigger, turn, on, start, actuate, start, energize, impel, get out the out of mothballs, come on!" He had been going over every word he knew for turn on as he stood over every warp pad on the tower. It had already been the better part of two hours and still no luck. Half of them seemed straight up broken, like they had been smashed by something big and angry. He yelled in frustration as he moved on to the next one while Number Two just bounced a rock on his foot over to the side. "Someone should really mark these things, it so…what is that?" On the side of the next one was what looked like a sticker, a sticker of…one of the crying breakfast friends? Yeah, that's totally what it was. Looking around he saw that there were more. All of them on the pads he had already checked.

"Are you kidding me? Someone's already marked them?" That made this way easier. Why was it the Crying Breakfast Friends though? Did aliens actually like that show? Ducktective was a way better show, why didn't they have stickers of that? Aliens had no taste. He decided not to think about it too hard as he looked around for one of the pads not marked and actually found one. It was completely unmarked, and it was a small one too, he must have overlooked it. "Number Two get over here, I found it." When his little buddy joined him together they stood on the small pad. "Arm, can you warp us out of here?"

The usual burst of static popped out. "…pad…function…destination…input."

That's right, where did he want to go. He had to find the arms owner. Maybe it had a homing function? "Uh, take us to your owner."

"…not…incorrect…"

Right, that didn't work. Maybe where they lived? "What about home, can you take me to where they live?"

"…base…kindergarten…warp…"

"Kindergarten, you mean like a school?" Was the owner an elementary school teacher? He didn't get long to question it before the pad was enveloped in light. Together with Number Two they floated a bit before being warped. He hadn't really paid attention to it before but being warped was a strange feeling. Like he was lighter than air, and going fast but staying still all at the same time, he could see vague shapes outside the stream of light. He was almost tempted to stick his hand out there. He had to pull Number Two back before he stuck his head out the stream. In moments the light was gone and they were somewhere new.

"This is home?" Number Two gave a nervous grumble and Emmet didn't blame him. They were in some kind of canyon, but it felt wrong, so very wrong. An ominous fog hung around the place and the walls had holes. So many holes, in the shape of people, like someone had taken a person shaped cookie cutter to the stone. There was a distant chitter in the distance that chilled him to the bone, it was then he realized that he was physically cold too. He was still wearing his leaf clothes without shoes. Wherever they were now it was way colder than the tropical paradise they had escaped from. Somehow, it felt more dangerous too.

"Well that settles this, not doing this." For a moment he wished that they could go somewhere warm and tropical again. But the thought of dealing with another sea monster crushed that idea instantly. They might as well head back to the tower though and come up with a different plan, preferably one where they went somewhere warmer. "Arm, get us out of here."

"…power…drain…minimal…conservation mode."

He just stared at it for a few moments. Suddenly he grabbed it like it had a neck to strangle. "Two! Getting struck by lightning gets me two warps and you're done? We're stuck in this horror show then?" The arm didn't bother responding. Emmet sank to his knees and groaned in despair. Number Two patted him on the back reassuringly before grumbling something and pointing down the canyon. Emmet followed where he was pointing and sighed. "Right, as long we're here we might as well look around. We might find a nice warm cave where I can avoid freezing to death."

Looking over the edge of the pad nearby he saw that there was a pretty steep drop off. So he grabbed Number Two, hopped over the side and latched unto the rock wall with his robot-fingers. They slid down the rock wall but they slowed his descent enough so that he reached the bottom with no problems. He let Number Two down and together they began to explore the canyon.

If it had been creepy from the pad, it was downright ominous from the canyon floor. The holes completely covered the walls all around them, and there were weird giant metal drills that reminded him of old virus photos he had seen in textbooks all over the place. The chittering hasn't stopped the entire time they were there. It was always in the distance echoing off the walls. The fog made it annoyingly cold and Emmet couldn't help but shiver as he walked alongside Number Two. The little melon seemed to find a need to climb every rock and scale every metal monstrosity he could. Emmet had decided to stop telling him to stop it after the tenth time and just resigned that his friend was a natural grown climber.

They had been exploring for what felt like hours before Emmet had decided all they were going to find was rocks and creepy mining equipment. "Arm, where are we going? Where is your base or whatever?"

It just blew out some static and some random numbers before turning off again. The thing was really starting to be more trouble than it was worth.

"Whatever, Number Two have you found any-Number Two? Where'd you go?"

His little friend disappeared on him. Looking around he managed to spot him on another drill nearby, this one was pretty high up. He sighed and walked towards him before noticing that he was struggling a bit. It wasn't too strange but when Number Two lost his grip and fell Emmet instantly went into motion. He barreled towards where he saw he was falling and vaulted over rocks in order to get there faster. Catching him now at the speed he was going would probably end up with Number Two getting crushed. So he had to catch him a different way. An idea popped in his head and he quickly slid to where the melon was going to land.

"Propeller activate!" He aimed the propeller up but before it could start whirling he manipulated the buttons inside the arm so that the propeller went in reverse. A strong air current flowed upwards and slowed Number Two's fall. His descent was broken just enough so that it was easy for Emmet to switch his robot arm from propeller mode back to finger mode and grab him with no harm done. "Whoa, really scared me there Number Two." He held Number Two as he stood up and began to walk with him in his hands. "You should be more careful you little melon head, you aren't as light on your feet as I-"He suddenly stumbled forward over a rock and fell on his face. He managed to avoid dropping Number Two who proceeded to laugh, hard.

"Yeah, yeah," Emmet said as he spit out a mouthful of dirt. "Laugh it up." He dropped Number Two lightly and used his hands to get up. But when he tried to stand he found that his metal arm was stuck to the floor. "What the-"

He was interrupted by a burst of static. "…elevator...activated…"

The ground underneath him suddenly moved and jolted downward. Emmet was suddenly free to pull up his arm and he did so before watching as the floor beneath him sank beneath the ground at an angle. Looking up he saw Number Two looking down at him over the edge before disappearing. Emmet didn't really get time to wonder where he had gone before he came back to hop over the edge and slid down the holes side down unto the platform. When he got there he looked quite pleased with himself.

Emmet just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure fine, brag you little showoff."

Number Two just gave a pleased grumble before watching the walls go by with Emmet. Soon they were past them and the tunnel opened up to a huge cave. The little light that came from the surface showed that it was full of weird, vague shapes covering the walls. As the platform stopped Emmet saw that it led unto a bridge. With Number Two he walked forward looking around. In front of him was a massive angular hole in the wall. Giant tubes absolutely covered the cavern stone around it like veins coming from a heart. Stepping inside the hole he felt the coolness of it under his feet. It was metal, smooth and chilled to the touch.

A grumble drew Emmet's attention to Number Two. He was standing near some strange stone cylinders just lying about. They looked like they had just been pulled from the rock in perfect shape, and then placed around by someone. Maybe the owner of the arm had been here? Number Two ran his hands across them and continued his investigation with one that was just broken on the floor. Emmet decided to look towards the other big mystery in the room. A massive asymmetrical crystal bigger than he was at the end of the metal 'room', it seemed to be the core of the room. Wires came from it and flowed off into the walls. But it was cracked, broken like someone had taken the world's biggest bat to it.

As he came near it he felt a tug in his robot arm, like a magnet was gently pulling him closer. He let the pull take him up to the crystal and realized that it was dragging him towards the large crack down the center. As he brushed the robot fingers along the edge the arms spoke up.

"…powered…recharge…progress…"

This thing was powering the arm? Maye he could get enough juice from it to get them out of there. He robot hand hovered over the crack and Emmet took a deep breath. This was either a really smart idea, or a really terrible one. Like he was walking out of there one armed kind of terrible. Without really taking the time to think it over he plunged the robotic arm into the crystal. Instantly the thing lit up like Christmas tree. In fact the whole room seemed to light up for a few moments, the whir of electricity filled the air and there was an accompanying tremor throughout the whole cavern. But he saw that as quickly as it had lit up, the whole room seemed to turn off just as fast. Emmet pulled the arm from the crack and watched amazed as it seemed to move like it never had before.

"…power…fully….ready…"

"Good, we can warp out of here now. C'mon Number Two let's get out of here." He turned to see that Number Two was backing up slowly towards him. "Number Two what are you-"

A rumble filled the air, but it didn't feel like it was coming from the walls. When Emmet looked harder he saw that the stone pillars were shaking. Then suddenly sharp cracks filled the air. All the pillars were now shaking and breaking apart like they were about to shatter at any moment, rumbling in place like they were possessed. The cracks grew and suddenly the pillars began to explode. Emmet threw himself and Number Two the ground and covered their heads as shards of rock flew over them and were embedded in the walls.

Looking back up he saw that…something was coming from the pillars. A mass of light in the shape of people suddenly grew from them all before tumbling forward and dimming. What was left was a group of Frankenstein looking horrors consisting of stitched together body parts in the vague shape of a hands and feet. Emmet could barely process what he was seeing before the part of him not completely gripped by terror recognized something else. It was a noise, like a cacophony of tiny scratches coming from the entrance, all coming from where they had come in.

As he stood he pushed Number Two behind him and activated his arms cannon mode. They were surrounded by crazy mutant monsters, and a lot more sounded like they were coming their way.


	5. Chapter5:Something Wicked This Way Comes

"Nope, nope, nope, no sir, no thank you." Emmet backed up quickly as the mutants began to crowd the entrance to the hole. It got to a point where all he could see was a multi-colored sea of limbs scrambling over each other to get at him. It was straight out of a horror movie and he was having none of it. "Say hello to my little friend!" He fired his cannon into the mass. Strangely as soon as it impacted whatever monster it touched popped like a balloon into a poof of smoke. He fired a few more times, Number Two even threw some rocks at the smaller ones, but there was way too many. They were going to get overwhelmed soon.

Number Two said something quickly and pointed towards the entrance. Judging from the light pouring in looked like the tunnel was clear. But how where they going to get there? It would take a much bigger gun, and the monsters were sprouting up way too quickly. They were like weeds, filling in the spaces he made faster than he could make them. Wait, like weeds. Weeds, which meant he'd need a weed whacker. Luckily he had one handy.

"Number Two, hop on!" Number Two quickly leapt unto his back and Emmet activated the arms propeller mode. It quickly came to life and with a roar he charged. His rush mixed with the propeller blades jettisoned him forward through the crowd. Monsters poofed left and right as he scythed through them. He managed to get through the mob and reach the elevator. He had no time to start it though so he just aimed his propeller hand upwards and let it take him skyward.

Since the tunnel was at an angle it was really awkward going upwards. Half the time Emmet was running up the side himself while trying not to hit anything. When they exited and flew up into the air Emmet let out some ragged breaths in relief. That had been completely terrifying. He was fighting Frankenstein zombies now? What? Why? He shook his head, no time to think about it now. He had to get Number Two and himself back to the pad and get back to the tower. At least there were no freaky limb zombies there…he hoped.

As he was thinking about the possibilities of there being more monsters in the tower he didn't notice how close he had gotten to the canyon walls. It was a deadly mistake and he barely noticed the shadow before it was already on him.

When he looked one of the mutants had already launched itself at him from the walls. "What, no!" He couldn't move out of the in time before the thing grappled him mid-air. "Get off monster!" He knew he couldn't risk changing his arm into cannon mode, but punching the beast didn't seem to be doing anything. To make matters worse the monster grappling him actually had smaller mutants crawling over it that hopped over unto his back. Luckily Number Two was managing to knock them off fairly well. But when the bigger threat started squeezing harder Emmet was forced to veer into the cliff in an attempt to dislodge it. It worked and the monsters slammed into the stone with enough force lose their grips and fall. But the move also caused Emmet and Number Two to start falling as well.

With a roar Emmet converted the propeller back into fingers and gripped unto one of the holes in the canyon wall. The robot arm made it easy and he actually managed to catch his breath. The sound of scratching stone brought his attention to the bottom of cliff. Looking down he saw that the mutants were climbing up the wall towards him using the holes.

"Oh come on, give me a break!" There were so many and flying again with them so close could mean been dragged down. There was another option and he hoped it would work. He grabbed Number Two and threw him upwards. The melon panicked before latching on to a hole and looking at Emmet confused. "Climb!" He screamed as he converted his arm to cannon mode and started firing at the mutants below. "We need to reach the top before they do. It's the only way we'll be able to fly away fast enough!"

Number Two nodded and began to climb. Using his regular hand Emmet did the same while firing the best he could at whatever mutant looked closest. Shoot and climb, shoot and climb, shoot and climb, that's all he thought about. For a brief moment he was worried about Number Two and he spared a brief glance in his direction to make sure he was okay. He was relieved to see that the little melon was making good progress up the cliff side and had actually used one of the freaky drills as a better handhold to go up faster. But the momentary distraction cost him though. A hand suddenly shot up and grabbed his ankle hard. With a grunt of pain he had to convert his cannon hand back to normal and use it to grab a hole just to avoid being ripped down towards the monsters below.

The hand around his ankle squeezed harder and the grunt became a scream in pain as Emmet began to lose his grip on the cliff. For a moment he thought it was the end before he heard the sound screeching metal and felt tremors throughout the cliff stone. He moved more instinctively that anything, ducking into the nearest hole and pressing himself as deeply inside as he could go. A shadow quickly passed by the entrance and was followed the sound of a huge crash. Peering back outside he saw that whatever mutant had been grabbing him, along with most that had been following him, were now back at the base of cliff being crushed by a drill.

Looking up he saw Number Two give him a thumbs up, one he returned before leaping from the hole and activating the propeller. He flew up and picked up Number Two on the way. Together they headed up and landed at the top of the cliff. Emmet couldn't help but gawk at the landscape. It was like the earth had been shattered, the whole area was malformed and cracked. It had been made into a series of plateaus that covered the landscape. The worst part though was how dead it all felt, like the life had been sucked from the planet itself. Number Two didn't seem like he enjoyed it any more than he did, with the frightened way he eyed the area.

There was no more time for sightseeing though as the sound of scrabbling rock reminded them both that they were being chased. Emmet gritted his teeth in pain as he ran forward. His ankle was not doing him any favors. What was worse is that he didn't recognize the area at all, he couldn't remember the way back to warp pad.

"Number Two, do you remember how to get back?"

Number Two just shrugged and Emmet cried out in frustration. "How are we going to get out of here?" He supposed they could just fly out of there, but he really didn't trust the propellers to take him too high up after what happened last time he had tried that. But if they flew too low then they risked getting caught again. He grappled with thinking about what they should before he felt a tug on his kilt and saw that Number two was pointing to a nearby section of the canyon.

Looking over the area Emmet saw a raised section of earth with no holes bordering the area. It was pretty steep so the mutants would probably have trouble climbing it. He could even see some green lining its edge. Green, which meant life, life was a real good sign at the moment. But it was right behind two hole riddled cliffs that looked like they made some kind of entryway, there was plenty of ways to climb them so they'd be easy prey to the mutants if they didn't get a good enough lead.

Emmet had another idea, one he hated with all his being. "Number Two, come on. We're going to have to do something real stupid." Number Two hopped up unto his back and when he was sure he was on tight Emmet leapt from the cliff edge. He used the propeller hand to slow them down before landing at the bottom. He sprinted as hard as he could towards the canyon entrance. He focused on running, and not the sound of a horde of mutants barreling their way through the canyon on their way to tear him apart.

He could hear them closing in but he didn't look behind, he converted his hand to cannon mode and took a deep breath. When he exhaled he spotted the section of the cliff with the most holes clustered together and fired. He made a direct hit to one of the holes and watched satisfied as spider web of cracks spread over the stone. It reached other holes causing a chain effect where the entire cliff face began to crumble. Soon it looked like the entire section of rock was on its way to collapsing.

With a roar of effort he pushed himself to run faster and as he cleared the entrance he could hear the stone behind collapse thunderously. Dust and rock went everywhere but he could only focus on activating his propeller and flying up the cliff face. When he finally reached the top he dropped Number Two down on some grass and collapsed, exhausted. When he finally had some breath back he looked over the cliff ledge to see that he had caused a huge pile up at the canyon entrance. Even from that distance he could see a tangle of limbs coming from the newly formed rock pile. The mutants that had managed to avoid being crushed crawled over the others and tried scaling the cliff wall. But the lack of handholds made climbing slow going. Emmet realized they'd have plenty of time before they managed to reach the top.

He lay back down and let out a laugh. "Well little buddy, looks like we managed to defy death…again." He fist bumped Number Two before standing up and brushing himself off. Looking around he realized that he in front of a field, in the distance he could hear trains. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard. "You hear that Number Two? It's the sound of civilization."

Number Two grumbled something excitedly and ran forward. He slowed down though when he saw how Emmet was lagging behind, limping on his quickly bruising ankle. He gave a concerned grunt but Emmet just waved him off.

"I'm fine, it's just bruised. Without you I wouldn't have it at all."

Number Two just spoke excitedly and emulated Emmet's shooting causing him to laugh. 'Yeah, pretty good right? Showed them whose boss didn't we."

Together they walked through the fields before Emmet smacked his forehead and groaned. "We didn't learn anything and the warp pad is back in the canyon. What are going to do now?" Number Two just gave a nonchalant grumble and shrugged, Emmet just sent him a glare. Whatever, at least the arm was charged. That might mean he could get more information out of it. "Hey arm, is there any other bases or like do you know where your owners spaceship is."

The usual static sprung up, but the voice was much clearer now. "…ship…location…sector…" The arm suddenly shifted and Emmet shouted in surprise as the fingers moved around. Now they made vaguely square shape midair, then all of a sudden they were connected by a sort of light. It was like a green stop sign boarded by the fingers. "I can make glowing stop signs?" Was it a sort of shield? That could come in handy. But one of the fingers wasn't being used, what did that mean?

Taking a chance he pressed the green stop sign with the free finger and watched as it lit up with symbols. It was a touchscreen! "Oh man, this like having the new iBot. This is so cool" He fiddled around with it but all the symbols that popped up weren't any he recognized. He doubted any regular human would recognize them either. He gave up trying to read it and resorted to what worked. "Arm, where was that ship you were talking about?"

The screen instantly changed into some kind of map. On it a blip showed up along with some numbers that looked like coordinates. "…ship…location…sector…"

Emmet had read his fair share of maps while on the river. Mostly ones for whatever state he was in but he sometimes looked at world maps too just for kicks sometimes, it helped pass the time and it was nice to dream that he could ride rivers all over the world one day. Manipulating the map with the finger he saw that the blip was somewhere he recognized, but it was way too far to get there by normal means or propeller. They'd need a warp pad. "Arm, can you show where the nearest pads are?"

The screen changed and he watched as the map changed and some more blips popped up. The nearest one was obviously in the canyon. But there was another within traveling distance near the coastline. "Hey Number Two," the melon perked up and turned away from the butterfly he had been chasing, "we have a destination."

It took a few hours but they finally reached a road. The train tracks were nearer but with his ankle he doubted he'd be able to hop on a train car anytime soon. He could try propelling unto one but he didn't think was good enough at flying to try something like that yet. This left Emmet and Number Two walking along the side of the road, thumbs up and out hoping to hitchhike.

If someone had told Emmet that one day he'd be hitchhiking with a watermelon boy, while wearing a leaf kilt and sporting a robot arm he would have been very skeptical. As it was the roads were pretty barren, they went for miles and the duo had yet to spot any cars. The sun which had been high in the sky after they had left the canyon was now dipping below the horizon. Night was coming and Emmet could tell it'd be a cold one, as his stomach growled he realized that wasn't his only problem either. He'd been on the run long enough to know that hungry, cold, with no shelter was a deadly combination.

He had nearly given up hope and was debating whether or not to try flying instead of walking before he heard the sound of a motorcycle. It came roaring up from behind, Emmet and Number Two stopped and watched as the driver stopped their ride on the side of the road in front of them and put down its kickstand. When whoever they were turned around Emmet saw that it was a she, a very tall she who was wearing some indie looking clothes. She took off her sticker colored helmet and out flowed a long curly mane of pink hair. She looked over the two and gave Emmet a smirk.

"Looks like you two have been through the bender. What's with the leaf kilt and the techno biz?"

For some reason Emmet felt defensive at the mention of the hand. "What's it to you Bubblegum?" Wow, that came out way ruder than he wanted it to. The last few weeks might have been taking a bigger toll than he thought. She didn't seem to mind though. She just kept smirking and put her hands on her hips.

"Two kids by themselves off on the side of the road? I've been there and thought I'd help out. It's fine if you don't want me too. But I'd like too, if I could."

Number Two happily grumbled something and she gave a bright smile as she went down on her haunches and looked him in the eyes. "Whoa, what's your story little guy? I'm digging the color scheme."

Number Two blushed and twisted embarrassed causing the woman to laugh and Emmet to chuckle. She stood up again and brushed the hair out her face before giving Emmet another smirk. She was so much taller than him it was ridiculous. But she wasn't the least bit intimidating. She just seemed kind of chill. Emmet realized what a jerk he was being and sighed.

"Sorry, it's been a…weird couple of weeks for me." He extended his regular hand. "I'm Emmet, that's Number Two. And we could use the ride, if you're still offering Bubblegum."

She laughed at that and shook his hand gently before she took her hand back and brushed it through her hair. "I get it, bad day's equal bad attitude. Everyone's been there. And yeah, the Bubblegum express is still open. I'm headed to Ocean Town now if that works for you."

Ocean Town, it was actually on the way, convenient. After a few moments though Emmet felt his blood rush to his cheeks when he realized she was using his nickname. "Do you have a real name?"

"Yep, sure do."

A few moments passed before Emmet realized she wasn't going to answer. "Can I know what it is?"

She just tapped the piercing on her chin thoughtfully before shrugging. "I don't know, Bubblegum works fine for me." She laughed as Emmet sputtered a bit before turning around and walking back to the bike. "Coming?"

Emmet didn't know what to think. A random pink hair stranger had just rolled up and offered a ride out of nowhere. A bit of him thought to be a bit wary, way more of him realized he had just fought off a mutant army of monsters with a robot arm. Hitchhiking with a random stranger might be the least dangerous thing he'd done in a while. But he had been wrong before. He turned to Number Two to try and get his opinion on the matter before realizing that he was gone.

"He's set to go," Bubblegum laughed. Looking over Emmet saw that Number Two was on her back waving at him to join while grumbling happily. At which point Emmet gave up and walked over to sit behind Bubblegum. "Hold on tight." She said before starting up the bike again.

"Why would I need to-"He was cut off as the bike jetted forward. He gasped before wrapped his hands around the pink haired mystery girl's waist and held on for dear life. She just laughed as they flew down the road.


	6. Chapter 6: Calm Before the Storm

"I know Mike Krol."

"Liar, you do not."

Bubblegum just laughed as she shifted on the couch. "I totally do, Dave's going to get him to play at a party he's setting up in a few weeks. He's going to set him up in my garage. "

"Dave is a braggart and you a liar." Emmet said in a theatrically posh voice. "An absolute duo of fools the two of you, through and through I say."

Bubblegum had responded in kind. "Oh my, I am offended to hear such uncouth and venomous words from the mouth of one so young. To think I have given quarter to such a rebellious rapscallion."

They both broke out into a fit of laughter. After wiping away his tears he thought back to after they had met Bubblegum. Emmet and Number Two had come with her to Ocean Town and when they arrived she offered to let them stay with her as they recovered. It turned out that she was in the area to watch over her family's house while they were away, none of her friends lived nearby so she said she wouldn't mind the company. It was a nice house, plus it looked like a stereotypical Middle American home. Two stories, painted brown, with a connecting garage.

She'd let the two crash on the couch. She apologized for not being able to get the anything better but Emmet didn't understand what she was sorry about. It was like he was living a dream. Even before his arm became robotic he had dreamed of the day he'd be in a home like hers again, living life lime a normal person and not on a raft. No more fishing for his next meal, he nearly cried when she poured him some cereal with milk their first morning there. No more waking up sore and uncomfortable, the couch was like sleeping on a cloud. No more bathing in lukewarm algae filled water, the heated shower felt like paradise. She had even lent him clothes, getting out of leaves and into actual cloth nearly caused him to break down in joy. He'd never been so happy to put on a pair of socks in his life.

By the third day he felt so pampered he felt compelled to help out around the house, just to stop feeling like a parasite. She'd waved him off saying that they were her guests but when had fixed a cabinet that had squeaked since she was in pre-school she decided to let him fix up some stuff around the house. As he did that she'd usually text on her phone while Number Two either: helped him, hung out with her, or disappeared for hours on end. Curiosity quickly got the better of them and after looking they discovered him in her little brother's room trying out clothes. Instead of getting mad she just laughed at how loosely everything hung on him and brought down an old box of kids clothes from when her and her brother were little.

They'd made a little fashion show of it. Though they shot down most of Number Two's choices, he had some pretty weird tastes. A red shirt with a puffy vest, a plain red hoodie with white undershirt, a sweater with a shooting star, a blue shirt with a weird nubby hat, an orange polo, a sailor suit, and even a black shirt he wore with glasses that he posed in. Who wore this kind of stuff? Suggesting pants too turned out to be out of the question, little guy found a pair of pastel purple beach shorts he absolutely refused to take off. It matched his color scheme pretty well though so they just focused on getting him a shirt. Eventually they had found one that seemed to work. It was a small t-shirt, white with a gold star in the center.

Bubblegum had thought it looked cute, saying that getting the shirt had been a funny story. It was actually hers, when she was a kid she had gotten caught in the rain at the beach and soaked to the bone. She was freezing and shaking like crazy while waiting for her parents to pack up and go before some musician who'd actually been hosting a concert on the beach that day came up to her and offered her the shirt. He said it was just a prototype shirt so his manager wouldn't be too upset if he gave it away.

From the look on her face it seemed like it had been a good memory, and laughed as Number Two cooed at his reflection in the mirror. But Emmet could only look at the star at the shirts center. The one that had painted on little chest had washed away days ago but Emmet had seen Number Two finger the spot where it had been. He put up a good front, but he knew his friend was still thinking of home. The idea that returning was on his friends mind only got stronger when he put on a small garish blue tropical Bermuda shirt open over the t-shirt. It seemed like the outfit wasn't just for fashions sake, it was a reminder. The colors even reminded Emmet of the islands giant geodes.

That had gotten Emmet to thinking about their plan, and what came next. His arm had a finite power supply that was obvious. So he'd have to keep that in mind before Number Two and him went to the warp pad. Speaking of which, Bubblegum had yet to ask too much about the arm, she had just wondered what it was like to have it on. Emmet had told her that it was like being a magnet for all the weirdness in the world. After telling her everything that had happened after finding it she found that she couldn't really disagree with the thought. He was surprised when she had believed his story but she had pointed out that he was the one with floating metal fingers that shot lasers.

He'd regretted telling her about that, because she had immediately wanted a demonstration. They'd spent an entire afternoon shooting stuff in the backyard. Which had promptly ended when a stray shot had went through the backyard fend and blown off the roof of the neighbor's doghouse. He had quickly gotten to work building a replacement and then swapping it with the original before the dogs owners returned that night. Bubblegum had helped while Number Two was busy distracting the neighbor's very excitable Rottweiler. He had to fix the fence too.

After a few days the three had gotten into a comfortable routine. Emmet was currently lounging on the couch watching TV while Bubblegum texted and Number Two went for his morning jog. It was relaxing, and Emmet hadn't realized how much he had missed TV. But something was still at the back of his mind nagging at him.

"Hey Bubblegum, mind if I ask something?" She just gave an affirming grunt as she kept texting. "Why haven't you told me your real name yet?"

She didn't even look up from her phone. "I don't know, why haven't you said anything about before you were on that raft?"

The comeback completely wiped out whatever thoughts Emmet had and destroyed any interest he had left in the show he had been watching. "W-what about it, why does that matter?"

She hummed thoughtfully before actually putting down her phone and looking at him. "Dude, your story starts with you on a raft. You don't think the reason why is important enough to bring up?"

"I don't really- look its private alright."

He felt rude saying it, considering how much she had done for Number Two and him, but the topic was getting way too personal for his tastes. She didn't look put off though, just thoughtful.

"So it's a secret."

"Not a secret, I just don't want to talk about it."

"So it's something you're running away from?"

"It's something I want to be free from." The words slipped out before he could stop them. He saw her eyes widen a bit and she just gave him a small sad smile. "What?"

"I get it." He was going to scoff but she sounded so sincere he couldn't doubt her. "I mean, sometimes you just want to make a clean break from it all." She gestured to the room around them. "I grew up in this house, my parents bought it when I was like one and we've been here ever since. I know the name of every person within like three miles off this place, and they all know me."

"Does that mean one of them can tell me your name?"

She just gave him one of her little smirks. "Sure, go out and ask. I'm sure they'll tell you."

She just laughed when Emmet just grumbled and crossed his arms. She had called his bluff and she knew it. He hadn't left the house since they had arrived. He had no idea how people would react to his freaky green alien robot arm. They might be cool with it like Bubblegum was but there was no guarantee of that. Meanwhile Number Two had taken every chance he could get to go exploring around the area. He kept coming back with stuff he'd picked up somewhere too, it was so weird.

After Bubblegum had stopped laughing she continued with her story. "I went to school down the street, and then graduated just to get a job downtown." She sighed, and twisted her body so that she took up most of the couch, planting her feet in Emmet's lap and letting her head fall back over the side of the couch. "I get away every chance I get, drive somewhere far off and take as long as I can before getting back. But I always come back." She shook her head. "You guys met me away from here, you know me as that girl going too Ocean Town, not from it. That was nice. Being Bubblegum is nice."

Emmet let the words sink in before looking at his robot arm. He realized that he got it. How people saw you, how they remembered you, felt more important than it should be. He noticed her looking at the arm too.

"You really want that thing gone, huh."

"Yes," he answered without hesitation.

She snorted. "You know most people would give anything to get a cool arm like that."

"Yeah, but not for the other stuff that comes with it."

"An adventure here and there isn't so bad."

She didn't get it, but he guessed that even he didn't get it completely either. "It's not that. It's just weird you know. Ever since I got this thing I feel like I've been changing. I've done things I would have never thought I'd be able to do, and I keep doing them."

"Maybe you've got a little hero in you, and it just brought it out. Magic alien robot arms make for great hero catalysts. It's better than being bitten by something radioactive or having a secret birthmark. Not as cool as being an alien though."

"You like aliens?"

"Dude, I'd date an alien if I could. Can you imagine how much we could talk about?"

Emmet just laughed and shook his head. "That doesn't surprise me. Look, I don't know if the arms a catalyst for the change or the reason entirely and that's what worries me. If I can't win a fight I run from it. I ran from the canyon, from that sea monster, from- well I built a raft to run away from my other problems too."

Bubblegum nodded. 'Yeah, but you saved Number Two and fought those monsters back at the canyon. That was pretty heroic."

"Because I had too," he said as he threw his hands in the air. "Every time I fight, I realize I'm immediately in over my head and do whatever I can to run away."

"So you fight…to run way? Dude, that's amazing."

Emmet just shrugged. "It's what it is. If I can fight, I will."

"And the arm…"

"Let's me fight. I see a giant sea monster and run but as soon as I find out that this thing has a cannon function I go in guns blazing to save my friend."

"Do you regret doing that?"

"No!" Emmet said immediately. He would absolutely never regret saving Number Two's life. "It's just that-it-it's complicated, okay. I just hate thinking that without the arm I wouldn't have gone back. And I don't want to be the guy with the arm who went back to save his friend when I would have been the regular guy who didn't." His voice cracked but he was already too far gone to care or stop now. He almost felt wary about saying all of this to a stranger but Bubblegum had proven she was a friend. "Back on my raft no one expected anything from me, I was free from being responsible and all that. Now it feels like I'm expected to start doing something amazing. But I'm not that guy. I'm just the guy who found the amazing thing. And that sucks."

He paused for breath and for a full minute there was just silence. He didn't realize how much he had needed to get that off his chest. It felt so good. He suddenly felt a tap on his leg and looked to see that Number Two standing there. Judging by the sad look on his face it seemed like he had caught most of his little rant. Before could say anything Number Two patted the star on his chest and it suddenly hit Emmet. He wasn't the only one running. They might be going back one day but Number Two had still run away from his responsibility and his people when they had needed him. He probably wanted to be free of that weight as much as Emmet wanted to be free of the arm.

"Seems like the little guy see's where you're coming from." Bubblegum said. He could hear the smile in her voice.

Emmet suddenly felt a little misty eyed and decided he had dealt with enough emotions for the day. "Move your smelly feet, I'm going to go make some popcorn." She snorted before letting him up and called out as he walked towards the kitchen.

"Grab me a bowl of fruit too while you're there."

"What fruit?"

"Watermelon dude, duh."

From the way she laughed Number Two must have looked absolutely scandalized. He got the popcorn ready and chopped up some strawberries on the counter he knew were Bubblegum's favorite. Suddenly a huge tremor rocked the house. Bubblegum had said there had been some weird earthquakes in the area, he'd even felt a few, but this one was different. It was way more intense and after it was done another series of tremors started up again.

He nearly dropped the bowls before managing to place them on the floor just as another tremor caused to stumble and fall to the floor. The trembling shook the ground and he could hear stuff crashing throughout the house. At the sound of some meal clinking he looked up to see the knife holder teetering at the edge of the counters edge. He shrieked as another tremor sent it over the edge and knives began to fall down towards him. With quick reflexes he managed to dodge a few and caught three in between his robot fingers.

He hoped the others were having the same amount of luck. "Hey, you guys alright?"

"Yeah," Bubblegum yelled back, she sounded strained like she was holding something heavy. "Try and save the kitchen!"

With a sigh Emmet put the knives down and got to work making sure nothing else was going to fall and crash. It had been the better part of an hour before the tremors had stopped completely and Emmet looked around the kitchen satisfied. It looked like he had saved a good amount of the kitchen. The grip he had with the robot arm had helped out a lot so he had managed to get to most of the place secure in time.

He walked back head held high, with a smug grin ready to brag. "Well guess who saved the kitchen…guys?" Number Two looked like he was in shock, Bubblegum looked like she was on the verge of crying, and they were both looking at the TV. There was an emergency news report on.

"-like flooding all over the downtown are. Homes are being completely submerged and people have been forced to their roofs in order to wait for rescue." Images of the flooded downtown streets filled the screen as the reporter went on.

"This is worse than what happened last time," Bubblegum said horrified.

Emmet just looked at her confused. "What happened last time?" Before he could get another answer the reporter spoke urgently. "Due to funds being diverted after Ocean Towns last major incident, the few helicopters in the cities employ have been deployed but do not seem to able to work fast enough to get to all victims involved. They are doing what they can, and we are all hoping for the best."

Bubblegum huffed derisively. "That's what happens when the mayor funnels all the money into fire prevention stuff for the city instead of evening it all out. Last time was bad, but still…"

"Seriously, what happened last time?" Emmet got annoyed when he didn't get an answer but when he looked at Bubblegum he could very clearly see how much pain she was in. She probably knew some people who lived downtown. Or a lot of people, a lot of people she would probably miss. With a sigh he realized that he had balled both hands into fists and was squeezing hard. He breathed in, and he breathed out, releasing his breath and opening his hands.

People were in trouble, people his friend cared about. He may have wanted to be like everyone else, leaving it up to someone who could do something to help, but he couldn't be. Until he was free of it he was still the guy with the robot arm who could instead of the regular guy who couldn't. And right now, that meant something.

Without saying a word he exchanged a look with Number Two, put on some shoes and headed out the front door. "Arm, propeller mode," his fingers morphed, Number Two hopped on his back, and with a jump they flew into the air. He could hear Bubblegum call out from behind him but he didn't look back. He just flew towards the flooded districts and hoped that he could make it there in time to make a difference.


	7. Going to need a Bigger Boat

Emmet managed to get a good look at the damage as he flew above, it didn't look good. Ocean Town was built in a valley on both sides of a large river leading into the bay from a nearby canyon. Bubblegum had told him once that the river had been a problem for the townspeople early on but when the mayor's grandfather Mayor Huey came into office he changed that. Under his orders the Huey dam was built that causing the flow of the river to weaken. With the river manageable Ocean Town expanded and covered the area. Farmlands were made on the higher areas too, fed by the artificial rivers they made by splitting the water using the dam. This is where Bubblegum's suburbs were, on higher ground overlooking the lower valley downtown and the edge of the farmlands. Bubblegum was apparently a casual student of history and geography, who knew.

Now though it was clear that something was very clearly wrong with the dam. The river was flowing with torrential force, scything through the town and flooding nearby streets. Barricades had been set up so the damage had been somewhat contained but the water level was still rising. It was obvious that pretty soon the river would swallow everything on its way to the ocean.

Number Two grumbled something and pointed towards a few buildings and Emmet saw that he had noticed the people stranded on top. They were somewhat high up but with the way the water was rising and with the strength it had moving it was obviously a short term solution. Emmet also saw some helicopters making their way over the city, probably on their way to help whoever they could, but they wouldn't be enough. If they were going to help though, they needed a plan. They couldn't just pick people up one by one and carry them all the way to dry land. It would take too long and was way too dangerous. Another grumble directed Emmet's attention to a store down below near the coast. When he went lower he saw that it was a partially submerged boat store.

"Number Two, what would I do without you?" Number Two grumbled happily as they landed on a nearby rooftop. "Stay here, I'll be back with a boat." He propelled over to the boat store roof and looked through the glass ceiling. Below were rows and rows of boats, clean and ready for use, dry too since the water had yet to breach the place. He blew a hole through the glass with his cannon and propelled down to take a closer look. They all looked nice and usable but one very important problem had immediately cropped up. Most of the boats in there needed gas, and the ones that used sails wouldn't work either. Meaning he'd have to waste time getting gas from somewhere, time he didn't have.

He was starting to get frustrated when he spotted it. There was a small yacht in the middle of the show room with a sign advertising that it was completely electric. No gas, no sail, just good old electricity. That could work. Emmet headed onto the boat and looked around until he found the engine. He decided to check something out.

"Arm, can you charge things up like you did the warp? But with electricity?"

"…charge…electricity...emergency…activate?"

He really hoped that this would work. "Yeah, activate. Charge it up." All of a sudden the arm began to hum and he could feel the vibrations throughout his body. The fingers suddenly began to have small arcs of electricity spark in between them. Emmet realized that if this didn't work on the engine then he could still probably use this new mode as like a taser or something. "Here goes nothing," with a deep breath his pressed the electric fingers to the motors charge port.

It didn't just turn on the engine, in seconds the entire boat had lit up with power. He brought back the fingers and turned off the electric function, hoping that hadn't cost him too much power in the arm, and headed back up to the deck. He checked the cockpit, inserted a key he had found in the nearby abandoned sales office and with a press of a button the engine roared to life. The boat was ready to go. Now all he just needed to do was get it out of there.

Tearing off the metal keeping the boat locked in place was easy enough with a robot arm. But the real problem came with the door to the store. It was one big shutter that was supposed to slide to the side, but when Emmet pressed the button to open it there was no effect. It looked like with the flooding outside there was no moving it. Another problem made easy by having advanced alien technology for an arm. He blew the hinges of the door with his cannon and the shutter collapsed letting in a surge of water that filled the store. It got high enough for him to drive the yacht forward and out of the store. Thankfully the water levels weren't too high in the area, and with the yacht being as small as it was he managed to get it through the open entryway.

He quickly grabbed Number Two from the rooftop where had left him and got to work. Their process was simple, drive up to a building of stranded people, and then Emmet would propel over to work on getting them back to the boat. At first many were skeptical of the flying boy, but when they saw that he was with Number Two they immediately hopped on the bandwagon…or band boat? It didn't matter. But the way they all seemed to fawn over Number Two was so weird he had to ask some people what was up.

It turned out that Number Two had become something of a local celebrity. Walking around had attracted a lot of attention and people had been going crazy over the little watermelon boy. He'd become an internet sensation over the last few days. Emmet realized that letting him just go off wherever he wanted may not have been the best idea. It had apparently paid off though so he decided to drop the matter and keep helping people. Things were going smoothly until they hit a snag.

"Oh I can't leave," the old woman wailed. She was on top of a nearly completely submerged house. She was on her side crying as she continued to scream in anguish. "It's all I have left, it was our home. All of our memories are here!"

"Lady, you can make new memories," Emmet said patiently.

"No, not without my Hank," at the mention of the name she only grew more distraught and cried harder. "Oh my darling husband, why did you have to be such a hero Hank? Why did you have to go?"

Emmet placed his normal hand gently on her shoulder. "Lady what are you talking about? Where did he go?"

She lifted a shaky finger towards the canyon above the valley. "To the d-d-dam," she sniffled but Emmet squeezed her shoulder reassuringly so she just took another deep breath. "He said that it wasn't built to handle earthquakes. I told him to let the people up there fix it but he said they wouldn't know how to handle it. So he got in the car and…and…" She threw herself at Emmet and began to wail again. He gave her a comforting hug before pulling away and giving her a stern look.

"Lady, Hanks risking himself to try and help everyone, to try and help you. Do you really think he'd want you to sit here on the roof and let his work go to waste?" She shook her head. "No right? He'd want you to get out of here safely and to help rebuild what's been lost."

She nodded, her shoulders slumped and she just let Emmet hold her. She seemed to have completely run out of energy. "We've been together so long. I don't know what life would be without him." She sounded so despondent, so empty, that Emmet could feel his heart ache for her. He had to do something.

"Lady look, how about I head up to the dam and check on Hank for you?" She perked up at that. "I'll just fly up real quick. He's probably already fixed the problem with the dam. If he hasn't then I'll help out and when we're done I will fly us both down back to the boat.'

"You would do that?"

"Yep, it'll be just a simple flyby. We should be back before you know it. But first we have to get you off this roof."

She nodded and he propelled them over to the boat. He left her with a group of people who promised to look after her and he headed back to the cockpit. Halfway there though he stopped, it had suddenly dawned on him what he had promised. He had basically said that he would head up to a clearly malfunctioning dam and bring back an old man who had decided to put himself in front of river about to rush throughout the valley. He realized that he could play off the promise as impossible. No one would blame him, it would have been impossible for a regular person to do. He knew it would have been impossible for him when he was a regular person.

But looking at his robotic arm he realized he wasn't that person at the moment. He was the guy with the robot arm, someone who could go check on Hank and bring him back to his wife. With a groan he walked over to where Number Two was busy entertaining the children below deck. With a tap and a gesture Number Two followed him up to the deck and waited for Emmet to speak.

"Look Number Two, I sort of promised this lady I would go find her husband." Number Two just nodded, he seemed to be waiting for Emmet to get to the point. "He's…at the dam. I'm going to have to fly up there and have a look around for him."

Number Two looked shocked for a moment, but he nodded and gestured showing he was ready to go. Alright, here was the hard part.

"That's the thing, little buddy. I'm going to head up there alone." Number Two's jaw hung open. He looked like Emmet had just slapped him in the face. He began to grumble something in protest but Emmet spoke before he could get into it. "Look, I know you want to help. But I need you here more than anything." Number Two gave him a skeptical look, Emmet just responded by gesturing around them. "Dude, look around you. The only reason people are here is because of you. You're also the only reason panic is being kept to a minimum. They need you here. I won't be gone long, okay? Can you man the fort while I go and do this?"

Number Two looked hesitant, but after a few moments he nodded. Before Emmet could say anything he was suddenly locked in a hug. Emmet returned it and then put Number Two down. He found one of the passengers to handle driving the boat and together they discussed how they'd get people without him. They came up with a plan using ladders and some wooden boards they had scrounged up going around the flooded area. It would be slower than propelling but he hoped he'd be back in time fast enough to stop that from being a problem.

He headed back to the deck and with a two finger salute he say goodbye to the others onboard before flying off. The view hadn't gotten any better than it had been hours ago. The flooding seemed to have been getting worse. To a point where couldn't even see some of the buildings closer to the center of town. At this rate things were going to get real bad. He kept propelling forward hoping he could grab Hank and go quickly enough to get back in time to help before things got any worse.

Soon the dam was in sight. Huey hadn't messed around building the thing, it was huge. Bubblegum said that it was once been biggest one of its kind until President Coolidge had built an even bigger one later that same century in Nevada. But that didn't really mean much considering how extensive the damage was. Huge cracks marred the concretes surface, with water pouring out of them like a broken fishbowl. Chunks of concrete fell away and were lost to the flow of water leaving less and less to hold back the water.

Emmet landed on top of the dam's edge on top of the concrete walkway. The rush of water around him made it almost impossible to hear anything. He didn't even know how to begin looking for Hank. A spark of electricity though brought his attention to a control tower nearby. He could see someone shadow in the window and headed up the stairs. Steeping inside he found that it was quieter inside which was a relief to his ears. He could hear himself think now, and also hear some muttering coming from a control panel where he could see some legs sticking out of the bottom.

"Are you Hank?"

There was sudden clang and then yelp of pain before a man came from beneath the panel. He stood and rubbed his bald head before looking at Emmet incredulously. "Kid, what are you doing here? It's way too dangerous!"

Didn't need to tell him twice, he could practically feel the dam breaking below their feet. "Your wife sent me. So I came to bring you back to her."

The man just rolled his eyes. "'Course she did. Look kid, I've been up here working on getting this thing fixed so that the river doesn't take out the whole valley. One of my biggest problems had been getting this room to work again so that the dam shutters up stream will close and divert most of the river flow through the farmlands. But the panels busted, my tools are shoddy, and I'm doing it alone."

"Where'd everybody else go?"

"Ran off scared, the cowards."

"Old man you are on top of a crumbling dam, which is the only thing between you and millions of gallons of water. The fact that you aren't scared is actually starting to freak me out a bit."

Hank scoffed at the old man remark as he crossed his arms. "That wasn't what scared them all off."

That made Emmet confused, what was scarier than working in a crumbling dam ready to break? "Then what did?"

Hank actually began to look a bit nervous. Emmet was starting to get a bad feeling about all of this. "You wouldn't believe me. I sure didn't believe the guy who told me."

That didn't seem ominous at all. "Try me. I've seen some pretty weird stuff."

Hank rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Look, when I got here they told me about it. The earthquakes were weird but they weren't anything the guys here couldn't handle. Which made the flooding in the valley make no sense, yeah? So I come up here and these guys tell me that during one of the tremors so rocks came loose. When they did there was this…like some sort of light, I think he said?"

Rocks and light, the sinking feeling in Emmet's stomach grew worse as Hank continued. He just hoped that his luck wasn't as bad as it seemed.

"All of a sudden-"

No.

"-there was this…thing, y'know, popped out of nowhere."

No way.

"It just started wrecking up the dam. The water could handle, whatever that thing was not so-there!" He said pointing out the window towards the river behind the dam. "There it is!"

Emmet to see where he was pointing, it took a few seconds to see it, and then he wished he hadn't. It was a blue fin, sticking out of the water. He would have liked to say it was his imagination after it disappeared under the water. Maybe he could convince Hank the same. They'd fix the shutters and head back down the valley. His hopes were completely dashed when something leapt from the water and roared so loudly he could hear it clearly from the control room. From what he could see it looked vaguely like a shark, same shape but it was translucent and didn't look like it had any eyes. It was big too, about thirty feet long, causing the water it fell back into to erupt upwards like a geyser upon impact.

Hank just whistled. "You saw that too, right?"

Emmet just nodded mechanically. It figured that on top of saving Ocean Town he'd have to fight a giant mutant shark monster. A tremor suddenly came through the floor, Hank sighed and rubbed his head frustrated.

"That thing has been pounding against the concrete ever since it showed up. I can probably fix the shutters, but it won't matter if that thing breaks the dam down."

"I don't suppose we could just leave and hope for the best."

"Can't," Hank said shaking his head. "There are too many people down the valley. I'm not just leaving their safety to chance."

Of course not, he was a man with a mission. For a brief, wonderful moment he thought knocking Hank out and taking him back to the boat. But with a deep breath he calmed down and swallowed up the fear that had been building up. Today, he was the guy with the arm. He was someone who could deal with this.

"Hank, get to work fixing those shutters." Emmet said as he walked back to the control room doorway.

"What are you going to do?"

Emmet tried his best to look brave and speak with confidence. "I'm going to distract…the giant, killer shark." He tried, and he failed. Hank just gave him a skeptical look. "Look man I got this, just get to work."

With that he left the control room and propelled over the area of water he had seen the shark mutant. He saw it circling below, taking laps where at the end it delivered another blow to the dam. He could see the blow physically shift the concrete. The dam couldn't take much more damage. That meant he'd have to act fast if he wanted to save everyone.

That also meant he'd have to do something stupid.

He swallowed a frightened gulp before letting out a shuddering sigh. "I hate being the guy with the arm. Alright, hand mode." The arm converted back to finger mode and Emmet dove head first down into the water. He lucked out, if that was even a thing for him anymore, and caught the shark as it started another lap around the area. He reached out his mechanical hand to latch onto its skin, only to find that they slipped right through like he had tried touching a bubble. Instead he grabbed something else, it was blurry underwater, plus he couldn't exactly feel through the robot fingers, but he could tell that it was small, dense and hard.

It was also apparently important to the shark, because as soon as he touched it the thing went absolutely berserk. What followed was what Emmet would have described as the nightmare version of a show from Sea World. The shark pulled him through the water at break neck speeds, tumbling and rolling as they went. Thankfully it jumped in the air a few times so he managed to catch his breath at intervals when it wasn't flailing around in the river. During one of its jumps he managed to see Hank give him a slack jawed stare. The satisfaction he got when he gave the man a little wave that caused his eyes to practically bug out of his head almost made the whole thing worth it.

He didn't know how long they went like this, but what he did know was that the shark suddenly started picking up speed. It began going in a circle, faster and faster with no break forcing Emmet to let go and surface. He propelled out of the water and from the air he saw what the shark had begun to shift the water with its movements. Slowly but surely there was a whirlpool forming, it looked like it was becoming large enough to be a clear danger to the dam. He couldn't let it continue.

With a yell he shifted the arm back into hand mode and dove after where he thought the shark was, and he missed, completely. He was completely engulfed in the current, throttled left and right with the force of the whirlpool. In his panicked mind he knew he had to get out of there but the water was too strong. There was no way to use his propellers either since he couldn't speak out the command for the arm to switch. He realized that this might be the end. He had the arm, and it still hadn't been enough. All he need was the propeller! In his frustration he thought of it with such focus and force it became all he could think about.

All he needed was the propeller!

Suddenly he felt a change in arm. And he could only stare incredulously at the propeller at the end of it. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth he activated it and let it take him upwards. Rather than fight the current he curved with it up the whirlpool. He saw the shark straight ahead, and with an underwater cry of fury he caught up to it and reached through he skin to grasp whatever it was that was inside the monster. With a heave he tore it from its mass and he could hear its roar reverberate through the water. It didn't matter though since it dissipated quickly enough and he surfaced. Gasping for air he flew upwards and then over to the dams edge where he collapsed onto the concrete walkway. There he lay, greedily sucking up air as quick as he could. He heard laughter and soon enough he saw Hank standing over him, a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Kid, I have got to hand it to you that was some kind of amazing!" He belted out a long hearty laugh as Emmet gave him two thumbs up and managed to catch his breath.

"The shutters," he gasped out.

"Their fine, I got them working minutes ago. The water flow should calm down enough for the mayor to figure out how to fix this mess." True to his word it seemed like the water had calmed down significantly. It wasn't thrashing so much as gently flowing now. And what was that he heard, it was now a problem for someone else to handle? He could definitely get behind that.

"What's that you got there?" Hank asked looking at Emmet's hand. Emmet released the death grip he had on whatever he had pulled the shark and opened to get a good look at what he had taken.

It looked like some kind of rock, or gemstone. It was tear shaped and blue, but the color was mixed up and distorted in places like it had some sort of infection.

"Dunno, pulled it from the shark."

"Huh, looks like a-a-a Lapis Lazuli. It's a kind of gem." Hank said with a sagely nod. When he noticed Emmet's confused look he just shrugged. "I collect stuff like this as a hobby. Everybody needs a hobby."

Emmet didn't know what to say that. He just shrugged and lay back down. "Just glad…it's over…" A soon as he said it the gem began to glow. "No, no, no, come on! I already won!"

The gem didn't think to agree and continued to glow brighter and brighter. Emmet began to panic and did the one thing that came to mind. He threw it over the edge of the dam. He watched it soar thought he air and as the light subsided he saw that the bubble shark had returned. It struggled to move midair and roared before disappearing into the water below. Hank and Emmet just stared after a few moments, completely dumbfounded.

"I, uh, wouldn't suggest advertising this part of the story too much when you tell it, kid." Hank said shaking his head.

Emmet couldn't help but agree with the idea.


	8. Call of the Universe

Emmet had tried immediately to go after the bubble shark. Only to just fall on his face as the exhaustion caught up with him. He was bruised all over, and still struggling to breath. Hank had also forced him to stay down while he radioed his coworkers for an evacuation. He had also checked to see if the shark had done any damage to Ocean Town yet just to put Emmet at ease as he struggled to get up.

They told him they hadn't seen any shark. Something had passed through the river quickly enough to cause a stir but it had soon disappeared into the ocean. Emmet didn't like that it was still out there but he couldn't help but feel relief that it was at least gone. He couldn't even propel Hank and himself back the valley, let alone do that and go another round with the monster. Hank radioed a chopped for them and soon enough they were dropped off at Ocean Town city hall. It was the largest building that wasn't underwater and was being used to house the many victims of the flood.

When they arrived they were immediately sent to the makeshift medical section of the building and examined thoroughly. Emmet resisted but Hank told him to shut up and deal with it. It turned out Emmet had sprained both wrists, nearly torn the muscles in his legs, had bruised most of his upper body and was suffering from a cough due to nearly drowning several times. They'd tried to get a look at his left arm but he had practically hissed at them when they got near the metal. So they just settled for dealing with the rest of his injuries.

Hank was in a nearby hospital bed and the doctors left him alone soon enough when the extent of his injuries was just some bruising. They gave him the clear to have visitors and as not a moment sooner is when the old woman from earlier, who he had learned was named Marie, practically threw herself at the man. They hugged, they kissed, Hank got a lecture on being stupidly heroic, and eventually they settled on just cuddling on the medical cot to catch up on their sleep.

When the doctors finally gave Emmet the all clear to have visitors he was almost thrown out of bed as Number Two tackled him with a hug. He grumbled quickly and happily, practically shouting with joy as he held is friend. It would have been nice if not for the medal around his neck that nearly gave Emmet a black eye when it flung into his face when Number Two leapt at him. Emmet returned the hug and when he asked about the medal he also saw that Number Two hadn't come alone either. Mayor Huey the Third had actually come by to congratulate the helicopter kid and the man who had helped save the town by fixing the dam.

He proceeded to explain that while they had fixing things up at the dam, Number Two had led the charge down in the valley. After people had seen the heroic actions of the watermelon boy rescuing stranded victims there had immediately been a surge of volunteers to help. Every captain in Ocean Town had pitched in their boat to help in the rescue efforts, under the supervision of their mayor of course, and soon everyone in the flooded areas had been evacuated safely.

For his efforts in bringing Ocean Town together Number Two was to be awarded the key to the city. There was going to be a ceremony after things settled down and he had come to give Hank and Emmet personal invitations to the ceremony.

Hank had grumbled something about the lousy government short changing him but Marie just gave him a light slap on the shoulder and accepted for the both of them. Emmet accepted too, not bothering to bring up anything that had happened at the dam. The mood in the air was pained but hopeful. But that could change quickly if people focused on the wrong things. He didn't want to bring anyone's mood down by talking about the fact that most of the city had almost been completely wiped out. It still could be if the dam wasn't properly fixed quickly. The mayor seemed to have the same idea, having everyone focus on Number Two instead of Hank and him was a pretty good idea.

He was fine with Number Two getting all the praise too. Number Two would always be the watermelon boy who had helped saved Ocean Town. He wasn't always going to be the helicopter kid, so being remembered like that would have just been annoying. But two people didn't seem to think of it that way at all.

After getting gripped in hug by Marie, she went on to thank him over and over again for saving her husband. Hank spared no amount of praise either after he had been forced to tell them both of his full involvement. Emmet tried to wave off the wave of compliments the two threw at him, blushing while saying it was nothing.

They disagreed saying it was not nothing. They had asked if there was absolutely anything they could do for him. Emmet just said he wanted to head back to his friend Bubblegum's house. Mostly to let her know that he was okay, but partially to get way from the crowds of people who might want to start paying a little closer attention to watermelon boy and helicopter kid. Hank said he was just being paranoid but Emmet just gave him a dry look before gesturing to the medical area entrance, where Number Two had set up a booth. He was giving signed autographs and taking pictures, the line stretched to the outside the building.

Conceding to his point the old couple said that they'd love to drive him. Using his position as 'guy who made sure the dam didn't break and thus saving all your worthless butts', Hank managed to get Mayor Huey to send someone to the dam and drive his truck back. In the meantime they held the key ceremony in front of the town hall. Everyone clapped for Number Two, and cheered as he lifted the giant key above his head and grumbled loudly and triumphantly. Emmet could only laugh at the display, unable to clap with both arms in slings. One sling to actually heal his flesh hand while the other hid the metal one.

When the ceremony had finished and Number Two had dealt with his fans they hopped on Hank and Marie's truck all together drove back to Bubblegum's house. The door was closed and the lights were off so at first he thought that she was out. But when she opened up the garage and stepped outside he couldn't help but smile. Behind her were boxes and boxes labeled for food and supplies, with a few other people in the garage packaging more. It seemed like she was a part of the relief effort, helping out by getting victims what they needed back at city hall.

It was good to see her too. She seemed more motivated than he had ever seen. The moment she saw him her reaction was immediate. A swift punch in the arm for scaring her and crushing teary hug where she expressed how happy she was he hadn't gotten himself hurt. Though he got another punch after she saw he had gotten himself pretty injured.

After he had introduced her to Hank and Marie, Emmet had decided he was exhausted and went to sleep on the couch. The next morning he greeted Bubblegum and Number Two but was surprised to see Marie at the table too, sewing while Hank made breakfast.

They told him that Bubblegum had offered to let them stay there for a few days before they left to New Mexico to stay with Marie's sister and her family. Her brother-in-law had been a renowned chemist so Hank offered to ask him if he could tell them anything from scientist's standpoint about the bubble shark. Afterword's he'd leave Marie there while he drove back to help out at the dam.

The thought of them leaving brought Emmet's focus back to his own plans. He knew the arm's power supply wouldn't last forever, and he didn't know how many times he'd be able to charge it again. He realized that it was time to get to that warp pad and find out what was on the other side. He spent the next few days recovering and helping out with the relief efforts. Secretly though he practiced with the arm, determined to figure out how he had switched functions without using a command. It didn't seem to be working though, when he focused as hard he could on a certain function he only managed to make the fingers twitch slightly. Eventually he decided to give up for the time being and just work on helping out.

Soon it finally came the day. He bid a teary farewell to Hank and Marie before hopping on Bubblegum's bike with Number Two. Together the trio rode the roads, watching as suburbia turned to hills and farmland around them.

It was in front of a 'Welcome to Beach City' sign where they stopped. The arm's data pad showed the warp pad was off into the hills surrounding the area. They'd have walk to it from there. He would have propelled them to the pad, but he didn't want to risk the arm not having enough energy for the warp. So they all got off the bike, Emmet hefted up a backpack full of supplies they had prepared and slung it over his back. For a few moments no one said anything. Emmet finally decided that something needed to be addressed.

"I am never getting on a bike with you again." Bubblegum gave him a blank look for a few seconds before snorting. He shook his head and crossed his arms. "I'm being completely serious, I don't know who gave you a license but they should be fired." She was doubled over in laughter at this point. She only laughed harder when she looked to see Number Two nodding in agreement and grumbling something as he crossed his arms.

After a solid minute she managed to catch her breath. "I got us here didn't I?"

Emmet raised an eyebrow. "Yeah you did, barely."

"I think the word you're looking for is quickly," she said with a smirk.

"You do know that yellow means slow down, right? Not accelerate as fast as possible?"

"In my defense, you screaming the whole way was definitely incentive for me to get here as quickly as possible."

At that they just stared each other down, unblinking and unmoving. Right before bursting into another fit of laughter that had them both gasping for air and wiping tears from their eyes.

"I've got to say dude, it's been weird."

"You're the lucky one. I've still got plenty of weird left to deal with."

She gave him an odd look, it both sad and understanding at the same time. "So, still looking to get rid of that arm, huh?"

She said it like it was anything resembling a question. But before he could say yes he stopped. He realized he didn't really know what he wanted. He knew what he felt though. "Yeah, it might be better for people if I'm not the one responsible for saving them." There it was. The idea that he was responsible for saving lives seemed ridiculous. He'd only managed so far on flukes and even then he'd been screwing up constantly. He deserved their praise as much as he deserved the arm. Both were just because of luck. Bubblegum only shook her head though.

"Ocean Towns still standing because of you, well most of it is." She suddenly reached out and brought him close for a hug. "Thanks, for everything. Just…don't go deciding whether or not you deserve anything too quickly, okay? Sometimes the call of the universe doesn't make sense. You just got to go with it." He didn't really get it but he nodded as he hugged back. Suddenly she whispered something quickly into his ear. When she stepped back he could only look at her confused. "My name, that's what it is," she clarified. She held back a laugh when she saw the way his jaw dropped. "I figure that since I'm going to be just a girl stuck in Ocean Town for a little bit while I help out…that you should know her name."

He closed his mouth and after a few moments gave her a soft smile of his own. He struck a pose like he was thinking something over, crossing his arms and tapping his chin. "You know that makes sense. But then again, I don't really see you as that person." He smirked at her confused look. He really couldn't shake the image out his head of the girl who stopped on the side of the road to help two perfect strangers on her way home. She wasn't really stuck anywhere, she was just going to where she needed to be. She wasn't afraid to help anyone get to where they needed to be either. "I think I'm going to stick with Bubblegum. The other names nice though, don't get me wrong."

Bubblegum looked so happy that it seemed like she was about to cry. She punched him in the arm again and quickly turned to Number Two and gave him a hug too. "Take care of this sap, okay?" Number Two gave her a salute she returned with a laugh. "Don't get yourselves killed, okay."

Emmet rolled his eyes. "Contrary to what our actions tell you, avoiding danger is actually one of our favorite plans."

She just gave him a smirk before putting on her helmet and driving away. The Duo watched her leave, she disappeared around a bend and suddenly the two were all alone at the side of the road.

"Well," Emmet said turning to the hills around them, "let's get going."

Number Two nodded and together they headed towards the warp pad. It took a bit of hiking but eventually they saw it in the distance. As they approached though Emmet could see that it was actually near a building. It was a barn, red with a black roof with a silo next to it. As the two drew closer Emmet could hear the vague sound voices coming from the building. He didn't want to have to deal with any farmers so he ushered Number Two quickly onto the pad.

"Arm, take us to the ship."

With a sudden burst of light they were warping. One minute they were in Delmarva, the next they were in a South American jungle. Verdant lush flora surrounded them with massive trees stretched overhead. It was hot and humid, to a point where barely a minute there already had Emmet sweating. Number Two looked like he felt the heat too judging from the way he wiped his forehead and took a swig from his small canteen. He offered Emmet some and he took a swig before handing it back and deciding to check something.

"Arm, got any power left?"

"…power…drain…minimal…conservation mode."

Wonderful, he tried switching to the arms other modes but it refused and just gave him the same statement, just wonderful.

Looking around Emmet quickly spotted it. In the shadow of another massive tree was a spaceship, large and circular like it had come out of a 50's B-movie. Emmet and Number Two made their way over and once they reached it Emmet brushed his hand against its moss covered side. The material it was made of was weird, it was dull and gray with a texture like stone. It was also at an angle, with one edge pressed into the ground. Would that mean the entrance was hidden in the ground?

"Any ideas on how to get in, Number Two?"

Number Two grumbled while pointing up the stone. The various cracks along the fractured surface seemed big enough to make for good hand and footholds.

"What is with you and climbing stuff?"

Number Two just shrugged and with a hop leapt unto the wall and began going up. Groaning Emmet debated whether to or not to keep looking for a ground entrance before climbing up after the melon. It was a precarious trip, he would have fallen several times if not for the grip on the robot arms fingers, and it took forever to scale the massive ship wall. Eventually though they found a large hole near the center of the top. It looked as though someone had blasted through the roof. Looking down he saw that it was a fair distance down, so he grabbed a nearby vine and used it to rappel down to the floor. Number Two followed and together they looked around the large room.

It was circular and had some ancient looking consoles that were covered in moss and vines. The one in the center though looked relatively cleaner though. It was as if it hadn't been used in years as opposed to centuries. He could see the buttons across the surface and debated whether or not to press any of them.

He turned to Number Two. "Well, you think we should press-and you've already pressed one, awesome."

True to form Number Two just looked at him blankly. Finger clearly pressed against the biggest, reddest button on the console. Thankfully nothing happened and Emmet sighed in relief. "Man, we are really going to have to talk about what constitutes as a smart idea with you. Honestly, what if pressing it had done something?" He leaned over the side ready to continue lecturing before he could hear the sound of electricity whirring.

The arm suddenly spoke. "…ship…console…activating…" Looking at where he was leaning he saw that he had pressed his robot hand to an even bigger, redder button.

Together the duo backed away slowly as the room came to life. Then out of nowhere giant pink screens like the ones the robot arm made popped into the air and just floated there. After a few moments Emmet was fairly certain the machines weren't going to explode and approached. Most of the buttons were broken and some sections of the console seemed overrun with vegetation, but it seemed to be functioning well for what it was.

He pressed a button experimentally and with a hiss of static one of the pink screens suddenly displayed what looked to be a map of the ship. With another careful press of a button it zoomed in on a section while another screen displayed what appeared to be the view from a camera in the area. "Alright Number Two, I think I got it. If we do this carefully then-"he turned to see Number Two pressing another button, all he could do was stare for a few moments. "…dude, are you serious right now?"

All of a sudden there was a screech of static and a noise like a small whine. Looking at the screen Emmet saw that a door had opened on the ship. Judging from the map it was a fair distance away from them. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was from the door came crawling three horrible multi-segmented things. They thankfully didn't look like the monsters from the canyon but just looking at them made his skin crawl.

They looked like giant millipedes, with a spike crab claw looking tail, rows of green gems running along their backs, tufts of white hair the flowed around their necks and giant spiky beaked mouths with what looked like an eyeball at the back of their throats. Just looking at them put him on edge and as they padded around the room on their massive legs he realized that these things were on the ship with him and would probably take exception to that fact. When started sniffing around the camera and destroyed it with a bite he decided he had seen enough for one trip.

"Well we're done here, c'mon Number Two let's get out of here." Number Two grumbled disappointingly but Emmet just shushed him. He grabbed him by the shoulders and walked over to the vine where he gestured for the little Melon to start climbing. He began to climb when a noise came out of one of the screens. The one the monster had bitten, the screen was full of static but apparently the audio function was still working. What came out didn't make matters any better.

"-you sure they were here?" A voice, a human voice came from the monitor.

"Yeah, they were right here. Where could they have gone?" Two, two voices meaning two other people were wandering around the spaceship full of centipede monsters. "They must still be here. She wouldn't want to leave the ship."

For a moment Emmet considered climbing up and leaving anyway. Who explored ancient ruins like this except treasure hunters and grave robbers, honestly. They'd probably be fine. But that nagging feeling at the back of his was there again. The idea that something happened to them while he could have stopped it was too strong a thought. With a groan of frustration he hopped off the vine, Number Two happily grumbled as he did the same and ran up to his side.

Emmet took off the backpack and put down before reaching in and taking out two walkie-talkies. He handed one of the small radio's to Number Two. "Take this and keep an eye on those monitors, watch our stuff too. We might need to make a quick exit." Number Two took the walkie-talkie and gave a salute. Emmet nodded and took a good look at the map before running out a nearby doorway. Making his way through the ship he ignored the strange gears with pink gems, avoided pitfalls, and worked his way around what looked like spike traps. He was wondering if the place was a spaceship or a temple from an adventure movie. Eventually though he heard the echo of voices down the fall. Unfortunately it sounded like those things had heard them too.

A screech filled the air and it was immediately followed by panicked screaming. Emmet bolted down the hallway only to find something he didn't expect.

Standing in front of him were two kids around his age. A boy and a girl, they were screaming in panic but instead of running they were facing the monster. They were also armed, the boy had some kind of pink shield and the girl was packing a huge matching pink sword. They were talking too as they backed away from the hissing beast.

"I thought you said she was your friend!" The girl yelled as she waved her sword in an effort to drive the monster back. She yelped as the boy blocked a glob of green spittle that came from the monsters mouth.

"This must be one of the other ones!" He yelled back.

Emmet saw that wherever the goo landed began to hiss and steam, apparently these things spat acid. He was almost able to convince himself that they didn't need his help and could handle things on their own. But the monster charged the two kids were thrown back. The boy fell a bit further than the girl meaning that she was the one the monster zeroed in on. She screamed as it loomed over her and Emmet rushed into action.

Grabbing a rock with his robot hand he too deep breath and took aim. On the exhale he chucked the rock as hard as he could. The robot arm's extra strength sent the stone zooming through the air before smashing into the monsters mouth-eye. It shrieked in pain as it flailed in the hallway causing dust and stone to fall around it. Without pausing Emmet went forward and grabbed the girls arm. Before she could say anything he pulled her up and ran with her trailing behind him. He grabbed the boys arm too, ignoring his surprised cry, and with them in tow they all quickly made their way through the ship. Eventually after a few turns they stopped. Emmet was left gasping for air alongside the other two. No one could say anything while they huffed tiredly.

The girl was the first to catch her breath. "That was amazing! Who are you? What are you doing here? Did you free that gem?" Her questions went on and on, it got to a point where Emmet wondered when she would need to stop and breathe. Looking over at the boy he got the feeling he understood his confusion and just shrugged sheepishly. Another howl through the ship cut the girl off though. "Oh my gosh, we need to get out of here."

Emmet was finally able to stand upright and nodded. "For sure, there's a hole that we can use as an exit that way through the center control room." He said pointing in the direction. "It's this way." When he didn't get an answer he looked to see that the others were just giving him shocked looks. He followed their sight to see that he had used his robot arm to point. He expected confusion and suspicion, but what he got was something different.

"Is that a robot arm? Is it gem tech?" The girl said pumping her arms excitedly. "That is so amazing! How did you get it to work for you?"

"You have Peridot's limb enhancers?" The boy practically screamed. "How-why-when-where-who…"

There was way too much to process. It was clear that the two knew about the arm and its owner but as the sound of skittering echoed cleared any questions he had for them.

He clapped his hands to snap them out of their weird little trances. "Questions later, monsters now, let's go."

They both nodded and together all three kept running. Emmet heard panicked grumbling and saw that it was coming from the walkie-talkie. He unclipped and quickly spoke to Number Two. "What happened, are the monsters nearby?"

He got an affirmative grumble. He quickly grabbed the other two and had them hide with him behind some rocks. He shushed them when they tried to speak before the sound of massive skittering feet marching across stone from nearby. They all froze and after a few moments the thing had slithered away again. Another calmer grumble came over the radio and Emmet realized that it must have left.

"Come on!" They continued on like this, running and hiding until the entrance to the control room was in sight, it was about one hundred feet away. "There it is, hurry!" He poured he had into one last sprint but a sudden screech showed that they had been found. He didn't know if they could make it, but they had to try.

"We can lock the doors behind us!" The girl shouted, but the boy just shook his head.

"It's busted. Garnet broke it last time we were here."

Now they were just doing it on purpose. "Stop saying things that deepen the mystery and run!" He wanted to ask questions but survival came first. But sometimes he just couldn't help himself. "What are you two even doing here?"

"We came to see centipeetle," the boy said as they were within thirty feet from the door. "I thought she might miss me, so I came to give her some of her favorite snack, some chips."

"You came to feed one of those things!"

"I brought enough for all of them. There would have been enough to share!"

Emmet just groaned. "Not the issue."

The girl gave a frustrated sigh. "Guys, running for our lives here remember? We can argue- is that a watermelon Steven?"

Emmet looked to see that Number Two was at the entrance to the control room holding something above his head. When they approached was saw that it was a bag of chips. He must have heard the boy and grabbed them from the backpack. With a triumphant grumble he tore the bag opened and threw it over their heads. They made it through the entrance and looking back he could see the monsters sniffing at the scattered chips curiously. He knew it wouldn't buy them too much time though.

"Climb!"

Together all four of the them climbed the vine. Number Two went up first, then the girl, the boy and finally him. About two-thirds up the monsters entered the room and circled the floor like they were waiting for their meal to drop into their laps. Number Two managed to climb over on to the top though, and reached down to help the girl over as well. But just when they were about to help the boy up one of the creatures slammed into the control room walls, the tremors shook the vine. Emmet gripped it harder, the robot arm's grip saving him from the fall but the boy wasn't so lucky. His gripped slipped and he was sent off screaming, only to stop as Emmet reached out and grabbed him with his regular hand. He was surprisingly light, light enough to toss upwards into the arms of his friend and Number Two. Emmet started climbing again before a glob of acid came near his shoulder and melted some of the rock around the hole.

"Come on, just give me a break!" He yelled. His eyes widened as some of the acid dripped down and melted through the vine. He didn't even have time to scream as the vine snapped sending him falling. His hand was suddenly gripped though a she looked to see the girl was hanging over the edge, anchored by the boy and Number Two.

"Hang on," she yelled like he needed to be told twice. As she pulled he could hear the monsters readying some more spit before something unexpected happened another one burst through the door roaring and tackling them.

"What's that one doing?"

"It's her, she's helping us!"

With a final heave Emmet was over the edge and on the roof of the ship. The adrenaline was still pumping so it took a few moments for everyone to get their bearings. By then the monsters had already wandered to somewhere else on the ship. When Emmet opened his eyes he saw the boy and girl extending their hands him. He took them with both his hands they smiled as they helped him up.

"Thanks for the help," the girl said," I'm Connie." She said reaching out her hand to his regular one.

"No problem, I'm Emmet." He said shaking her hand. He turned to the boy who had extended his hand too. They shook as the boy gave him a smile.

"Nice to meet you Emmet, I'm Steven. Steven Universe."


	9. Crazy Noisy Bizarre City

Emmet had expected that whenever Number Two and he found someone who knew about the arm's mysteries it would be like pulling teeth from them. He expected riddles, wrapped in mysteries, surrounded by enigmas, shrouded by deception and contained by silence. But with Steven though…

"-and then one time we went to for fight a giant bird on a mountain. I got a goat son named Steven Jr. and then I got eaten by a giant bird. But it was fine because Pearl and Amethyst fused into a giant woman and saved me. It was so cool, she was really big and she combined Pearls spear and Amethyst's whip into a bow and then shot a light arrow that bubbled a horde of smaller birds at once. And then this other time-"

Emmet realized the real problem was getting Steven to shut up. He was a nice guy, he really was, but he was talking so quickly and revealing so much that Emmet could barely process it all. As they walked from the ship to the warp pad he didn't think Steven had gone three seconds without speaking the whole way. And it there was a good distance left to go.

Apparently he was part of a rebel alien group called the Crystal Gems that had fought to save the planet and continued to protect it along with all the things living there. Emmet had gotten a bit wary when he had talked about gems. He still had flashbacks to the dam on occasion, remembering how a single stone had nearly wiped out Ocean Town. Steven had noticed his discomfort and when Emmet had explained that he had fought a gem he had nodded understandingly.

"For some reason, a lot of gems on earth are corrupted. They lose themselves and become…something else." There was a deep sadness in his voice as he stopped and gave the ship a quick glance. "They don't mean to do bad things. They just don't know any better anymore. I'm sorry if one hurt you, but the Crystal Gems aren't like that. Our gems are perfectly fine."

It took a few seconds but his curiosity and hope overpowered his suspicion. "Alright, if you say- wait, ours?"

Steven grinned and chuckled sheepishly. He lifted the hem of his shirt revealing a shiny pink gem where his belly button should have been.

Emmet could only stare as his mind went blank. His mouth moved before his thoughts did. "Nice piercing."

Connie and Steven just gave him a blank look for a few moments before bursting into laughter.

"That's not a piercing," Steven said wiping his eye. "My mom gave up her physical form to make me. She left me her gem too." His voice took on a somber tone. He also seemed to eye Emmet's face. Like he was waiting to see his reaction, but was nervous of what it could be.

"Well, that was nice of her." Steven and Connie's jaws dropped as Emmet only shrugged. "What, it was," he turned to Number Two for confirmation, "wasn't it?"

Number Two nodded and grumbled in an agreeing tone. That brought the attention of the others to him. Snapping them out of their shock and replacing it with confusion.

"So, where did you meet a watermelon Steven?" Connie asked as they continued walking.

"You mean Number Two?" He was a watermelon…Steven? Looking at the two side by side he instantly saw it. Number Two was practically a watermelon clone of Steven, shirts included. This only served to raise more questions, but at this point he wasn't short on a supply for answers so he decided to let the matter drop for the moment. "It's a long story."

"Well, why don't you tell us at my house?" Steven asked, "Connie still has some time before she has to go home so she can hear it too."

Connie gave a small whoop of joy. "Yeah, I bet it's full of excitement and adventure! It'll be so cool to hear about it."

Emmet just rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "It's not all that impressive. But yeah, I guess I can tell you guys." They reached the warp pad and Emmet groaned in frustration. "My arm doesn't have enough juice to warp us out of here."

Steven just shrugged. "I can do it, hop on."

Emmet didn't really get how that would work but Bubblegum's words of just rolling with it echoed in his head. So he just shrugged and hopped on the pad with the others. When Steven gave a grunt and extended his arms Emmet was surprised when they were suddenly warping. A few moments later they were inside a house.

Emmet's first thought was on how nice a house it was. His second was questioning why there was a warp pad in it. The third and most important at the moment was that there was a very pink, very large lion within arms distance, staring right at him.

At this point Emmet's nerves were so shot that he could only react with a blink as he locked gazes with the massive feline. "Steven," he asked way more calmly than he felt, "there's a lion in your house."

"Oh yeah that's just lion." Oh yeah that's just lion he said. Like the thing wasn't the size of a car. "My mom left me him too…I think. I don't really know where he comes from. Anyway, do you guys want a snack?"

Emmet could only shake his head dumbly as Number Two cheered enthusiastically and ran ahead with Steven. He kept eye contact with the lion for a few moments before feeling a tap on his shoulder.

"It's fine," Connie said. The sympathy was clear in her voice. "I know it's a little weird, but he won't hurt you."

Emmet could hear the sincerity in her voice and decided to trust her. It went against every instinct he had but he managed to turn away from the alpha predator in the room and decided to look anywhere else. He saw that only half of the house was actual house, the other half was way different. Wood became smooth stone with crystals sticking out of the walls all leading to a door with a star on it. The door had different colored gems at each point. As Emmet hopped off the warp pad and sidled past the lion he saw that the house part of the house was practically one room. There was a kitchen area, a small living room area with a couch and some stairs leading up to what looked like a bedroom.

Looking over to the kitchen area he could see Number Two and Steven laughing while they tried out different kinds of juice and waters. Connie and Emmet joined them and soon they got to talking. Emmet told his story, he started from when he was lost at sea once he got to his rescue on water melon island he saw the recognition in Steven's eyes.

"Wow, you were on Mask Island. That's so cool."

Emmet blinked at him startled. So it was called Mask Island then. "Yeah, washed up there and then saved by Number Two and his village." His eyes flicked over to Number Two who had the same sad expression he had whenever he thought of home. "Number Two and I barely escaped with our lives though."

Connie and Steven exchanged confused looks. "Escaped?"

Emmet explained the sacrificial ritual and his narrow rescue of Number Two, along with the lucky find of the warp pad that allowed their escape.

"Steven never told me about all of that," Connie said as she brought her hand to her mouth horrified. "Having to feed your friends and family just to makes sure Malachite doesn't destroy everything…that sounds so horrible." So Malachite was its name, Emmet felt his fists clench.

"Number Two and I have vowed to find the arms owner and get them to help us defeat the beast."

Connie nodded happily before her face lit up with realization. Emmet grew curious when she exchanged an excited look with Steven and they both looked at him with barely contained joy. "What?"

"Emmet, Alexandrite already beat Malachite." Steven said, practically jumping in place.

He could barely process that. "Alexandrite…"

"The fusion of Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl," Connie explained.

"Beat…Malachite…" It took a few moments. Steven and Connie started getting worried at the deadpan expression the two had. Steven looked like he was about to actually start apologizing before he was interrupted by a screaming. "Yes!" Emmet roared at the top of his lungs. "That is awesome!" He locked arms with Number Two and together they started jumping in a circle, happily twirling as they sang out. "Saved the island, saved the island, saved the island, they saved the island!"

Connie and Steven could only laugh as the two collapsed laughing as they rolled on the floor.

"Well, the Watermelon Stevens helped too," Steven said before rubbing is neck sheepishly. "I sort of possessed one and led an army of them to help fight Malachite."

At one point Emmet swore Steven would start making sense. It was just a matter of time. But he was distracted from the odd statement by the look on Number Two's face. It mixture of relief and pride, Emmet realized what it meant as he patted his friend on the back. "They fought for their freedom little buddy, they were brave in the end. Took responsibility for their own lives and won their own peace."

Number Two nodded and then patted Emmet's arm, he smiled at the gesture. "Yeah, I guess we can move unto the next thing on our list now."

"What's the next thing?" Connie asked.

Emmet raised the robot arm. "To find whoever this belongs to and have them get it off me."

"We know who's that is," Steven said with a smile. "She lives out of town in my family's old barn."

Emmet could only pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh as he processed the words. "Can I meet her?" At this point it wasn't a matter of rolling with the universe. He was just trying to keep up with it. He wasn't doing a very good job at it.

"Yeah, sure, I'm sure she'd like to meet you." It couldn't that easy, it shouldn't be that easy. But after everything that had happened since he had gotten the arm, didn't he deserve something to be easy for once? His thoughts were interrupted when Connie gave out a yawn.

"Sorry," she said rubbing her eyes, "it's been a long day." The yawn was infectious. The others were soon doing it too.

Emmet suddenly realized how exhausted he was. Fighting giant acidic centipede monsters and going through multiple revelations in one day really took a lot out of a person. Number Two looked like he was getting tired as well. Looking over he saw that the other two were looking at him expectantly. It made sense, he was nearing his goal and they wanted to see what he would do.

He was about to ask to go meet the owner before feeling a pat on his leg. Looking down he saw an exhausted Number Two grumble sleepily. Emmet felt a bit guilty as he realized how tired the others were too. He might be willing to try and push through his exhaustion, but he didn't have the right to ask them to do the same, it had been a long day for everyone.

He just gave Number Two a smile and turned to Steven. "We can go tomorrow. Resting up is more important right now."

Steven's face lit up. "You two can stay here. We can have big slumber party!"

Emmet frowned, he wouldn't want to impose. He was about to say something but Number Two let out a cheer and gave Steven a hug. He looked so happy that Emmet felt terrible considering whether or not to look for somewhere else to sleep. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to accept Steven's hospitality. "Could I use your shower?"

After getting clean and refreshed Emmet was pleasantly surprised when Steven actually let him borrow some clothes. Which was nice of him, Emmet just wished the guy had some variety in his wardrobe. He literally had a closet of pink star shirts, jeans and sandals.

The others got ready for bed too and Emmet saw that Steven had set up a small area on the floor in his 'bedroom' for Number Two and him. Connie said she needed to get home soon, Emmet asked if she lived nearby and when she said no he wondered how she would get home. He was immediately answered when she hopped on the lion behind Steven and with a roar the cat teleported all three of them out of the house. He stood there, staring at the empty space they just vacated with a slack jawed expression until Steven teleported back and hopped off Lion minutes later. The universe was messing with him, he just knew it.

As they all got ready for sleep Steven could not stop talking. He kept going over how excited he was for Emmet to meet the Gems. Apparently they were still out on a mission and hadn't returned yet. Steven hoped they would be back by morning. He talked about staying up until they got back. He couldn't wait for them to meet Emmet, he wanted them to love the newest addition to the team, and he went on about how cool it was to have another human join them. When Number Two grumbled he corrected himself, human and watermelon.

Emmet felt like reminding him not to get too excited. This was all very temporary. Once he got the arm off he would just be a regular guy, a regular guy with regular non-world saving responsibilities worries, and abilities. The most he'd have to worry about is stopping any leaks from happening in his boat on the way back to Watermelon Island…actually he might charter a plane for that trip. He wondered if Steven knew anyone with a plane but when he turned to ask the boy was already asleep. Emmet soon followed his example.

The next morning Emmet got up and felt a pang of hunger. Looking around it seemed like the Crystal Gems hadn't come back yet. He got up groggily and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hey Steven, Number Two, you guys want breakfast?" He yawned out. All he got was an in-sync grumble and turn. So he just shrugged and headed to the kitchen. He decided to pour some cereal. So he lazily checked through the cupboards, until a small boy in one handed him what he was looking for. "Thanks," the small boy mumbled something as Emmet closed the cupboard door turned around and poured the cereal. He poured some for Steven too, while just pouring a bowl of milk for Number Two. He was halfway through eating his fourth spoon when the oddness of the incident occurred to him.

He was pondering it as Steven got up from his bed with a yawn and came over. "Oh hey, you poured some cereal?" Steven asked as he got in a seat across the counter. Emmet just passed him his bowl and a glass of milk. He gave a quick thank you before digging in himself. Number Two soon joined them and for a few moments all three were just enjoying a nice breakfast together.

"Steven." Emmet said is a vaguely curious voice. "Is the small boy in the cupboards a normal thing for you?" He had seen a lot of weird things in that house in the small time he'd been there. But he hated to be unsure.

Steven didn't even flinch at the question. "Yeah, that's just Onion."

"Oh, okay." Well that settled that.

For another few moments they continued to eat peacefully. All before Steven's eyes suddenly shot open and he slammed both palms on the table. "Onion, Onion's in my cupboards…again!"

Emmet could hear said cupboards shoot open and looking behind he saw the small boy hop out and land on his feet with expert skill and grace. Without a second glance he bolted for the door while holding a box of cereal. Steven wasn't far behind.

"Onion," Steven hollered as he slipped on some sandals and gave chase, "stop stealing my food!" He had the kid cornered at the screen window, but the boy just launched himself through and landed outside before he kept running. "Not another one!" Steven ran out the door leaving Number Two and Emmet looking after him confused and sleepy.

Emmet turned to Number Two. "Should we go after him?" The watermelon gave a shrug and an affirmative grumble before gesturing towards the door in the cavern wall. "You're right, best not to meet them without Steven."

With that the two cleaned up the kitchen, got dressed in their regular clothes, and headed out the door. It was a nice sunny day. It was even nicer considering the location. Apparently Steven's house was alone on an isolated beach, meaning pure sand and clear ocean. Walking down the porch steps, out unto the sand and looking back he realized that Steven's house was also part of a massive stone temple.

Its design got Emmet wondering. "Huh, reminds me of the geodes back on Watermelon Island, the rock I mean. It might be made of the same type."

Number Two grumbled in an agreeing tone. Emmet stole a quick glance and saw that his friend didn't have the usual melancholy look he usually got whenever something had got him thinking of home. He looked relaxed and peaceful. It did Emmet's heart good to see the little melon doing so much better. Shouting from down the beach though gave away where Steven had gone. The Two had decided to follow and had made it a little down the beach before Number Two suddenly stopped.

He placed a small hand on a random section of the beach and rose before closing his eyes and extending his arms out, with his palms faking upwards. Emmet didn't understand the need to pose like that there, but it seemed important so he let his friend have the moment for it. When he stopped he exchanged a nod with Emmet and together they headed after Steven.

Heading around the small peninsula the Steven's house was on he saw that Beach City was just a small walk away. To have been this close all that time…Emmet felt a migraine coming on. Not seeing Steven anywhere anymore, Emmet decided he should ask around to get a clue as to where he had gone. Together they reached the nearest building, a Big Donut store, and headed inside.

There at the counter were two workers. A tall lanky young guy with orange-brown hair cut into some kind of fluffy Mohawk, and a short, stout, curly blond, equally young woman next to him.

"Welcome to the Big Donut, can we help you?" The blonde woman asked. Her eyes widened as she looked at Number Two. "Oh hey, a watermelon Steven, haven't seen one of those guys since they went crazy and started attacking the city."

Emmet looked down at Number Two with a raised eyebrow. The melon shrugged while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he grumbled something nervously.

Emmet decided to translate. "Right, he says he's sorry about that. So you guys know Steven then, huh?"

The woman nodded. "Oh yeah, I mean who in Beach City doesn't? He just ran by here chasing Onion again." Oh good he'd come by here.

"I'm glad he's wearing clothes this time." The guy said with a shudder. "Last time this happened he streaked across half the town before his dad caught up to him."

Right Steven had talked about his dad a bit, the former musician. "He ran from the temple?" The man must be fast.

"What, no from the car wash he owns." Steven's dad didn't live with him? Come to think of it there didn't seem to be another bedroom in the house. Just the one bed, that was weird. "Dude, what's with your arm?"

The woman elbowed him causing the guy to grunt. "Lars, you can't just ask someone about stuff like that!"

"C'mon Sadie look at it, it's so green and freaky." That just got him another elbow to the gut as the woman looked at Emmet apologetically.

"I am so sorry. Lars just talks without thinking sometimes."

"Its fine…," he read the tag on her shirt, "Sadie. It is green and kind of freaky."

"See?" Sadie just gave the guy named Lars an incredulous glare before turning to Emmet and giving him a small smile.

"So, are you new to town? We haven't seen you around before."

"Yeah, just arrived, had some business to do with Steven so I'm staying over at his house."

"Must be weird gem stuff right?" Another elbow with a glare added in. "Will you stop that?"

Emmet ignored him. "Yeah, gem stuff, I guess. You know about them?"

Sadie just shrugged. "Everyone in Beach City does. We mostly just leave them be, they do the same. Steven comes around all the time though, his dad too."

"What's his dad like?"

The two exchanged a look Emmet couldn't place.

"He's a real nice guy, lives in his van, heard he's rich now."

Lars just scoffed. "If he's so rich why's he still live in a van?"

"Not everything is about money Lars."

The two started arguing and Emmet just rolled his eyes before leaving. Steven had run by, he couldn't have gone far. All of a sudden there was a noise, like bags tearing and the contents spilling out. Emmet followed it to the back of the Big Donut to find the dumpster behind it ransacked. There was garbage everywhere and something was still throwing out from in the dumpster.

"Hello?"

The garbage suddenly stopped flying. Emmet was starting to worry before there was another noise. It sounded like…a chicken? All of a sudden something leapt on top of the bins edge. For a second Emmet thought that it was some kind of big fluffy rooster. It stood half a meter tall, with a ridged beak and beady eyes. It was covered in fluffed up multi-colored feather with bird like feet ending with wicked looking talons. It clucked as it looked at Emmet and Number Two before giving a hateful hiss and running off.

Emmet and Number Two just watched it go of around a nearby corner and stood there for a few moments. "You know, that doesn't have to be gem related." Emmet said off-handedly. "It could be something else entirely. A new breed of rooster…maybe, probably, I'm almost sure." Number Two just shook his head, Emmet sighed. "You're right, that's dumb. We're going to have to chase that thing aren't we?" The melon nodded and with another sigh they were off.

Tracking the rooster wasn't hard. It left a trail of scratches on the wooden boardwalk lining the beach. What was disconcerting was that as they rounded a corner into the alleyway the scratches started to grow in number. What started as clearly one rooster monster became what looked like several, then a dozen, and then two dozen. The number kept growing until they reached an abandoned old building isolated at the edge of the pier. It looked like it had once been a Mexican restaurant, there was an old rotted out sign that read 'Aqua-Mexican'. Boards covered the windows and the door, there the faint sound of scratching coming from inside.

"Of course, of course I'd have to fight monsters in an old abandoned Mexican restaurant today. " He used the robot arm to pry off the boards and stepped through, Number Two was right behind him. The main area was abandoned, with overturned tables and chairs littering the area. The noise was coming from the back. Emmet crept forward and when he was close enough he managed to look over the counter. He wasn't prepared for what he saw.

It was a fluffy colorful ocean of feathers, constantly moving with the sound of clucking filling the air. At the back of the kitchen, on top what looked like an old stove was the biggest rooster monster of them all. It was at least two meters tall, colored black and white, with a gem dead center in its feathery chest. It gave a loud cluck before the stove dinged and opened. Inside was an egg the size of a basketball. It rolled out and then exploded. Emmet had to duck as the shards flew through the air. Looking back over the counter he saw that there was a new rooster added to the pack that quickly joined it brethren. That wasn't good. Emmet would argue that it actually bad, real bad.

He backed out as slowly as he could, being careful not to step on anything that might make any noise, Number Two did the same. They were halfway back before there was a creak at the doorway.

"Hey Emmet," Steven said coming in through the door. "I got my cereal back from Onion. But if you wanted Mexican food though we could go somewhere that's still open, there's one place-what's wrong?"

Emmet and Number Two were giving him horrified looks but it was already too late. The restaurant was dead silent, and then there was a high pitch shriek followed by the clack of talons against the floor. Steven must have noticed the monsters behind them but Emmet didn't turn around. Number Two and him just ran forward, he grabbed Steven by the scruff of the neck and bolted out the front door.

"What's happening?" Steven said as Emmet let him down and they ran as fast as they could. The army of monsters was right at their heels.

"There was one of those things with a gem back at the restaurant. It was laying eggs that popped out these smaller ones." They ran around another corner, it was a dead end with a chain link fence blocking their way.

"What do we do now?" Steven yelled.

Emmet didn't answer. He just grabbed Steven with the robot arm and tossed him over the fence. Emmet was still surprised at how light Steven was. He barely weighed any more than Number Two did. He also apparently floated, when he threw Number Two he was still softly falling through the air. He promptly caught Number Two and they both gently landed on the other side of the fence.

"What about you?" Steven asked as the rooster horde was starting to close in.

"I'll manage," Emmet said as he leapt up unto the fence. He climbed as quickly as he could. When the robot hand reached the top he used its full strength to pull his body up and over. He flipped halfway over though and began to fall back first towards the floor. He braced himself for the pain but when none came he saw that Steven had caught him, and was holding him effortlessly, bridal style. "Wow, you're strong."

"Heh, yeah," Steven said chuckling. "We need a plan though."

"Can the first step be you putting me down?"

"Huh, oh right, sorry about that."

Steven let Emmet down and he brushed his clothes off. "It's fine, we need to deal with this." Steven nodded and they looked to the horde trying to tear down the fence to get to them. By the look of the fence it wouldn't be long until they tore it down.

Number Two grumbled worriedly and Emmet nodded in agreement. "These things won't be focused on us long. They're going to get bored, maybe even go after some regular people." Steven and Number Two nodded. Emmet doubted the three of them could handle this on their own. "Are the Crystal Gems back yet?"

Steven suddenly gasped. "That's why I came to come get you! The gems are back at the temple. They asked me to come find you and bring you back."

The gems were back? Good. "Steven, go get them and bring them back as fast as you can."

"Okay, so we'll just-"

"No, not we, just you," Emmet interrupted. "You go, run ahead, and get the gems. Number Two and I will lag behind and get the horde to meet you halfway."

"But what if they catch you?" Steven asked, looking horrified at the idea. Emmet appreciated that.

"It won't be a problem if you run fast enough, now go." Steven must have heard the firmness in his voice because after a few moments he nodded. He looked at Number Two and the little melon gave him a positive grumble and a thumbs up. He probably thought he looked heroic, the little showoff. Steven got the message and with a deep breath he turned and ran off. And boy could he move. Emmet's eyes could barely keep up with him as he sped off towards the temple. Leaving Emmet and Number Two in the alleyway, alone, on the other side of a rapidly breaking fence, which was the only thing between them and an angry horde of rooster gem monsters. "Number Two, this plan sucks."

Number Two grumbled in agreement. The fence started to creak and groan, it wouldn't be long now. They'd have to run fast, good thing they had lots of practice running from monsters. The fence collapsed and the duo turned and began to sprint ahead of the horde. They turned a corner and when they exited the alleyways Emmet saw that they were at the edge of the boardwalk. It was a straight shot to the Big Donut and the exit out towards the part of beach leading to Steven's house.

So they ran, as fast and hard as a boy and melon could when fleeing for their lives. Anyone in the way quickly moved when they saw the screaming boy and the melon being chased by multicolored razor sharp beaked roosters. All except one. It was a small old woman who was feeding pigeons from a bench, not seeming to mind the incoming noise at all. A man and two girls were yelling at her to move, when she finally noticed Emmet approach she gave a startled little gasp and by then the horde was already closing in. So Emmet did what he could and swerved in order to scoop her up and quickly toss her over to her family.

The turn took a chunk out his lead and now the roosters were nipping at his heels. Number Two was a fair distance away and nearing the Big Donut. Emmet was relieved his friend was so far from the danger but a sudden scream interrupted his thoughts. Looking over he saw a large guy with curly hair nearby holding a phone.

"This will make an amazing post for my blog, keep Beach City Weird!" The idiot was going to get trampled if he didn't move. A young boy and an older man with similar hairstyles were yelling at him to get out of the way but he wasn't listening. He was too big to carry and since he wasn't moving Emmet would have to make him move. Looking around he spotted a trash bin and with a spin of his body he grabbed it and threw it in one smooth motion. The bin sailed through the air and slammed into the guy sending him tumbling backwards into some bushes. With him safely out of the way the horde passed him over.

Emmet was nearly past the Big Donut when more of the monsters came from around the other side of the building. They snapped at him causing him stop and back up. He nearly backed into the group that had been chasing him. Soon he was surrounded by the beasts on all sides. They nipped and took bites at him but he smacked them away with the robot arm. Number Two was nowhere to be seen. Emmet was glad he escaped but growing increasingly worried over how he was going to get out of there alive.

The horde suddenly grew silent as the sound of creaking metal filled the air. The creaking grew louder until it became a screech and Emmet looked up just in time to see the Big Donut giant donut topple over and fall.

"Not like this!" Emmet screamed and covered his head. After a few moments he kept screaming, when he realized he wasn't crushed he opened his eyes. He realized that he was standing in the donut hole, and was surrounded on all sides by the sturdy metal, safe from the horde. The beasts that had surrounded him hadn't been so lucky. It looked like the donut had crushed some in the fall. He gave a sigh of relief before he heard a hiss. Looking up he saw the gemmed rooster. It was even taller standing up, and loomed over him. He realized he could try punching it, maybe fighting it off with the robot arm, but the thing looked vicious and very, very angry. He didn't have that much room to maneuverer. He realized that this might actually be the end. His journey was going to end in the stomach of an overgrown chicken.

But before it could pounce some kind of whip wrapped around its neck and flung it backwards away from him. Emmet couldn't see past the donut but he could hear the sounds of fighting. A few minutes later it stopped, and there was silence.

"Hey," Emmet looked up to see Steven on top of the donut looking down. "So I guess this is where you holed up." Emmet rolled his eyes as Steven gave him a wide grin.

"Steven, get me out of here."

"Hey, donut get your pants in a twist."

Emmet groaned. "Did you at least beat the monsters?"

"Yep, they got creamed." Steven finally lowered a hand for Emmet to grab and he was pulled up and over the side. "Good thing we were here to get you out of that jam."

Emmet groaned again but this time he wasn't alone. Looking over he saw that there were three very strange looking women who Emmet realized fit the descriptions Steven had given of the Crystal Gems.

The tallest one he realized must have been Garnet spoke in a deep articulate voice. "Emmet Irvin, Steven told us about you. We're going to help you get rid of that arm."


	10. Schrodinger's Hand

Meeting the Crystal Gems was an…interesting experience.

"Why don't we just pull it off him?"

"Amethyst this is advanced home world technology. It's not going to just slip off like a glove."

"Well, have you tried pulling it off him?"

"…Garnet?"

"It might be worth a shot."

The three continued to argue as Steven, Number Two and Emmet played videogames in front of his TV. Emmet had learned that Steven had told them his story. When they had returned to the house, which Emmet had also learned was actually half temple, the gems had begun discussing what to do next. They'd been arguing for the better part of an hour over how to deal with the arm. Steven had suggested they go to Peridot and ask her about it. But Garnet had explained that she was in the middle of a Camp Pining Hearts marathon with Lapis. Steven had shuddered when he told Emmet it might be best to just wait a bit for them to finish. So while the Crystal Gem's talked about whether they could do anything to help, the boys decided to just try and relax. They had almost been killed earlier that day after all.

"Emmet, Steven, could you two come down here please," Pearl called up.

"You're not going to pull on my arm," Emmet called back without looking away from the screen. He was in the middle of landing a particularly brutal combo on Steven. "You're going to tear my arm off."

"No we aren't," Amethyst said before pausing, "…I mean I don't think we will, maybe."

"I've already tried pulling it off, doesn't work."

"What if we used soap?" Steven suggested.

"Dude, you think I came here without trying everything I could to get this thing off? We're going to need an expert."

"Pearls pretty smart, she could maybe figure it out."

Said gem blushed. "Oh my, thank you Steven."

Emmet wasn't convinced. "Is she an expert in this kind of tech?" None of the gems seemed to be able to answer the question. It seemed like no matter how smart they were this kind of thing was beyond them. "Then we need to go talk to Peridot."

"But who would take you? This kind of situation could take days to figure out. Corrupted gem activity has been up lately and we've been stretched thin. Garnet and Amethyst have been running around stopping them where they can and I have been busy with Steven and Connie's training."

Emmet gave Steven a surprised look. "You train?"

'Yeah," Steven said excitedly. "Pearl's a great teacher! Connie and me work on tag team combos and sparring so we can fight with the gems on missions."

Pearl coughed and seemed to be hiding another blush. "That's Connie and I, Steven. And yes, Emmet, they are undergoing training to be better prepared in the field."

"You should join us!" Steven said. His excitement caused him to look away from the screen long enough for Number Two to lay down a brutal hit to his character. He groaned when he looked back and saw that he had been eliminated. "What, no fair!"

Emmet didn't really think it was a good idea. If all went well he'd be getting rid of the arm by the end of the day. But it might be cool to watch. "Sure, that might be cool. We got to deal with his arm first though."

"Amethyst can take them," Garnet suddenly said. "I don't see any situations within the day we can't handle without her. It should be fine."

Amethyst suddenly crossed her arms and looked away. She looked thrown by the statement, Emmet thought she looked a little hurt too, but she quickly flipped her hair and gave a bored huff. "Fine I guess I can take him. I've been meaning to drop by and say hey to the Peri anyway."

That was good news but something still confused Emmet. "She saw, saw what?"

"Oh, Garnet has future vision."

Of course she did. "Of course does. Can…can the others do crazy stuff like that too?"

He almost regretted asking as Steven just shrugged. "Yeah, Pearl can make holo-pearls and Amethyst is really good at shapeshifting."

Good stuff to note. "What about you, anything else besides that sweet shield and the floaty thing you do?"

"I can make a bubble."

"Oh…that's cool."

"It's a really big bubble. And I can shapeshift a little too."

"Like into an animal or something?"

"Yeah but just my fingers…into cats…I don't use that power much after what happened last time. I can make myself taller too, but not for too long."

That sounded pretty useful. "That's a pretty impressive skillset dude."

Steven laughed at that and rubbed the back of his head embarrassed. "Yeah I guess. Oh, my spit-"

Pearl interrupted him with a clap of her hands. Emmet missed clapping. The robot arm didn't have a palm making it impossible. "Steven, get ready for training. Connie should arriving soon."

"Aw, I wanna go to the barn and see what happens with Emmet's arm."

Pearl just clicked her tongue. "Steven, if you and Connie want to go on an actual mission anytime soon you'll have to take your training more seriously. That means no skipping days to go visit the barn."

"Aw man."

"Don't worry dude," Emmet said. "I'll tell you all about when we hang out later." He nodded at Steven who gave him an appreciative smile.

"Thanks Emmet. Alright Pearl," Steven said as he put down his controller. He stood up, looked at what he was wearing and apparently deemed it acceptable enough to sit down and keep playing.

"You train in sandals?" Emmet asked.

Steven shrugged. "Yeah, their comfortable, is that weird?"

Weird had never been a more relative term. Compared to everything else lately being able to run as quickly as he did in sandals was pretty low on the scale. "Meh, its fine I guess." The three kept playing videogames, this time joined by Amethyst while the other Gems went back into the temple, until there was a knock on the door.

"Connie's here!" Steven said as he stood and practically sprinted to the door. Emmet could not understand how he moved like that in sandals. He opened the door and there Connie was in some kind of training outfit. Her hair was tied into a tight braid that ran along her back and she wasn't wearing her glasses. She looked way more ready to train than Steven did as she stepped into the house.

"Hey Steven, are you read for some training!" She said excitedly before spotting Emmet and Number Two. "Hey you guys, did you figure out how to fix your arm, Emmet?"

"Amethyst is taking them to see Peridot later." Steven explained.

Connie nodded before growing confused. "Oh, then why haven't they left yet?"

"Wanted to say hello and then see you two off." It was only polite. Plus depending how things went he might not be able to see them for a few days.

"Aw, that's so nice."

"Plus we want to wait a bit so that Peridot can get through some of her Camp Pining Hearts marathon." Amethyst added with a shudder.

Connie gave a shudder too. "Yeah, that's probably for the best." Just then Pearl came out of the temple and beamed when she saw Connie.

"Oh, Connie you're here. Excellent, let's all head to the arena to begin todays training."

"Yes ma'am," Connie said with a salute. Steven did the same and all three hopped on the warp pad.

"Bye Amethyst, Emmet, Number Two. Good luck with your arm." Connie called out.

"Amethyst, do be careful when taking Emmet and Number Two to the barn. They are just human…and a melon after all." For some reason when Pearl had said that last part she had sounded pretty high and mighty, like she was speaking to a child instead of a teammate.

With that the group warped out of the temple. Emmet looked at the spot they had left and shook his head. "Is she always like that?"

"Yep, pretty much. Are you to go?"

Was he? It was pretty nerve wracking once he thought of it. But he could either sit there and play videogames or go and determine the course of the rest of his life. The TV screen suddenly flashed and when he saw that Number Two had won again he realized that staying there would probably end up being a whole day of losing to the gloating melon.

"Yeah, I'm ready let's get going."

Together the trio went to the warp pad and Emmet was surprised when it automatically seemed to activate. "You can activate the pad without moving?"

Amethysts just shrugged. "Yeah, it's not hard."

"That's pretty cool."

"Eh, you know whatever." She crossed her arms and turned away but Emmet could swear she was blushing. Suddenly they stopped warping and Emmet saw that they were in a field, a very familiar field. And that Amethyst was heading towards a barn, a very familiar barn.

"Are you kidding me?" He practically screeched.

Amethysts just looked at him like he was crazy. "What?"

"I thought the barn was code for something. I didn't think you meant an actual barn, specifically this actual barn! We passed by here on the way to the saucer!"

"Dude…that is hilarious." Amethyst started laughing hysterically at his reaction and Emmet felt his face heat up with a blush. She kept laughing the entire way to the barn. When they reached it Emmet wondered how they would find Peridot. The place didn't exactly have a doorbell. Just a massive hole in the side, it looked like a truck had slammed into the buildings side. Amethysts suddenly answered his question by screaming at the top of her lungs. "Hey Peri you home?"

Emmet had to rub his ears to sooth them. For such a small thing Amethyst was loud. She really was tiny, barely taller than Steven and only coming up to Emmet's chest when standing up straight. When compared to the other gems she seemed almost puny. But from the way Steven talked about her she saved the world just as much as the other gems. So she must be way tougher than she looked. She had helped fight off that horde of monsters after all. Before he could think more about it someone suddenly shouted from inside the barn.

"Hello Amethyst, nice of you to come by, please leave!"

Amethysts just rolled her eyes. "Pause the show and come out here, it's important."

"Is the cluster re-emerging?"

"No."

"Did homeworld send another squadron of rubies?"

"Nope."

"Is Steven is mortal danger?"

"Not since I saw him this morning."

"…did you want to watch this marathon with us?"

"Definitely not."

"Then there's nothing to discuss, come back later, we're busy."

Emmet gave Amethyst a concerned looked but she just sighed. "We found your limb extender thingies."

Total silence for a few moments, before the barn doors suddenly began to creak open and Emmet could see a very tired looking eye peeking from between the crack. "What?"

"Yeah, this guy found it in the ocean and-"

The doors suddenly shot open and Emmet was tackled by something small, green and very angry. "Thief, give me back my limb enhancer!" Emmet cried out in alarm when he fell over and suddenly found that whatever it was that had hit him was now trying to pull the robot arm off by force. "Gimme that limb enhancer, gimme, gimme!" He managed to pry the little monster off with the robot arm and get a better look at it.

It was apparently a she. As small as Amethyst but with a much skinnier build, she was green with huge blond hair that jutted out in a way that shaped her head like a diamond. She wore a clear visor that covered her eyes and her gem fixed on her tiny forehead. So this must be Peridot. He couldn't help but feel a bit…disappointed.

"I thought you'd be different."

"What do I care what a thieving, human clod thinks!" She practically screeched. "Give me back that limb enhancer this very moment or feel my wrath!"

Emmet couldn't help but think that she looked adorable flailing about mid-air. Like an angry green tortilla chip with arms and legs. He brought her a bit closer to press a finger to her stomach. "Will you calm down already, we need to talk about this arm."

Bringing her close was a mistake. She took the opportunity to swing a foot directly into Emmet's face. He gave a small cry in pain as he dropped her and clutched his nose. This turned out to be another bad mistake as she fell to the ground and raised her fists triumphantly.

She giggled maliciously. "Hah, my fury is felt thief! Now fall!" She tackled him again and they became a tangle of limbs on the floor clawing and biting at each other.

Amethyst was rolling on the floor laughing while Number Two just watched with vague interest. Eventually though Emmet managed to grab her again and hold her at full arms distance. He wasn't willing to take any chances this time.

"Look, will you stop attacking me for a minute so I can explain? I want you to take the arm back."

Peridot stopped struggling and just gave him a confused glare. "You want to what? Why, do you think that such advanced technology is beneath you? How dare you, human clod! That tech is the most advanced of its kind."

"Then why can't I take it off?" Emmet asked as he dropped her and crossed his arms. "I've used every word I could think of to try and command it off my arm and it hasn't worked."

Peridot gave an arrogant snort. "You're using the verbal command settings? Only the newly made Peridot's and the stupider, slower gem's use that setting, pathetic!"

Emmet gave a disgruntled growl. "Well it's how I've gotten by. The thing doesn't exactly come with a manual. I'm just lucky the buttons inside are kind of easy to use."

She looked confused. It was scaring Emmet how confused she looked. Why did she look so confused? "Buttons, what are you talking about?" The question had terrifying implications. But he had to push forward here, it was too important.

"When I put the arm on I felt buttons, pressing them is what activated it."

"Do you really think that such advanced technology utilizes such archaic technology as buttons? Fool!" She shook her head and had another malicious set of giggles. "This tech works by directly tapping into the power of a gem forming its body. By using the energy of the gem itself as a battery a flawless link is formed between said gem and the limb enhancers. It is the perfect symbiosis of gem and technology!"

He only caught about a third or that, judging by the looks on the others faces they didn't seem to be keeping up too well either. Steven had told him about gems and what they were. Their bodies weren't exactly real, just things to carry their gems around. It had explained why the bubble shark had returned and why the mutants had gone poof when he had blasted them. Apparently the arms used the reformation process to draw power and connect to the gem. What did it do for a human though? "If you need a gem to power and control this thing then how have I been using it?"

Another arrogant snort before Peridot suddenly started pacing back and forth. "Well there's obviously an emergency battery put in place. That only makes sense. It seems to be running off that. It's not finite and will eventually run out but it wasn't made to be a permanent solution, just something to last a gem long enough to get back to their base and fix whatever the problem is." Alright, one question answered. But he could have probably guessed that one.

"Alright, so it's running on emergency power, makes sense. How have I been controlling it without a gem though?"

That actually got Peridot to stop and furrow her brow. "It may have connected with your inferior human nervous system in an attempt to siphon energy and establish a mental link. Through my studies of humans through my computational lap held device loaned to me by Steven I have learned much of human biology. Aside from being completely revolting and inefficient, it appears that the human body uses electrical signals to pass messages to various body parts. Though small and weak, these currents may be enough to actually register with the technology."

"Alright, that doesn't explain the button thing thought."

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Your human brain is probably so incapable of understanding what was happening to it that it must registering what your hand is doing as pressing buttons. It may be the only way your human psyche can process such an amazing connection to such incredible technology. How I miss it." She gave a wistful sigh as Emmet was busy trying to contain his panic.

"If I only think I'm pressing buttons what is my hand actually doing?" He really didn't like where all of this was going.

"Nothing," Peridot said shrugging, "it's gone."

Complete silence. Nothing was said, and no one moved for moments. Amethysts eyes widened a bit, Number Two started looking scare and Emmet's breathing became heavier. "What do you mean gone?"

"The technology is designed to replace and draw energy the touch stumps, push pad, and joint extenders they covered. Thus limb enhancers convert said things into energy to strengthen the mental link's they create and fuel themselves easier."

"Wait, so those things are-I mean were part of your body then?" Amethyst asked scratching her head.

"In a way, when I first manifested my physical form I did so with these things placed on me. After that I was sent straight off to work."

"That's…an interesting childhood."

"Compliments will get you nowhere thief."

Emmet gave an annoyed sigh. "Look, I'm not a gem. I didn't form with this thing on I slipped it on and it connected. That means everything inside is still there right?"

"In a way, they both are and aren't."

"That's not a very good answer Peridot."

"What do you want me to do?" She said throwing her hands into the air in frustration. "Explain the basics of quantum superposition to you in an afternoon? Look for all intents and purposes that is your joint extender, your push pad, and your touch stumps. Oh wait, no they aren't, they are all mine. And I would like them back."

Yeah, Emmet was tired of this conversation too. "By all means, take them back." Where his arm, hand and fingers were wouldn't matter once the arm was off and he had them back.

He sat down and extended the robot arm to her. She gave him a glare, but apparently distrust gave way to desperation as she rushed forward and began to work on the arm. She quickly stared manipulating it. Using her fingers she activated screens that covered the metallic surface and was soon moving through them at lightning speed. She didn't look too happy though.

"It's nearly out of power, but it should have run out a while ago. How have been charging it? It's registering two massive surges that nearly burnt it out. You know overcharging is bad for it right?"

"I'll keep that in mind." He wouldn't, he was too excited that she'd finally be able to get the thing off of him. A loud obnoxious beep caused his to grow a bit wary though. Her frustrated snarls weren't helping either.

"Stupid…clod arm…come on, come on…rah!" She continued to mutter to herself as she worked on the arm. Amethysts and Number Two were starting to look bored.

"Yo Peri," Amethysts said. "You think you can wrap this up anytime soon?"

"I'm trying, but it's is not cooperating!" Peridot slapped the arm and started to stomp her feet into the dirt childishly. "A link shouldn't have been possible to form. Humans do not have the mental strength to connect to such cutting-edge gem tech."

A chill went up Emmet's spine as a memory surfaced. "What would constitute as part of the link?"

"I don't know," Peridot huffed out annoyed. "With the link you wouldn't need verbal commands. It's why Peridots make the best use of them." She said with no small amount of pride coloring her voice. "Being the smartest we can manipulate them the easiest."

Amethyst's face lit up with realization. "Oh, so like when you turned into the peri-copter or used the dot blaster without saying anything."

"Exactly," Peridot said before returning to her work on the screens.

"I did that."

"That's nice." After a few moments Peridot looked up from the screen. "What?"

The chill had run through his whole body, Emmet felt sick. "I changed the arm without saying anything. I was underwater so I couldn't, so I thought of it changing really hard and it did. I haven't been able to do it again though since."

Peridot's eyes widened as she looked at the screen again. After a couple taps she began to sweat. "Oh."

Emmet and Number Two exchanged worried looks. He looked back to her, and tried to speak as calmly as he could. "What is it?" His voice cracked but he was too scared to care.

"It, uh, means you've linked with the arm." She shuffled in place awkwardly. "It isn't siphoning any energy from your frail human body. But the link is there."

"Can you unlink it?"

"…I don't think that's possible."

Amethyst must have noticed the raw panic on Emmet's face because she spoke up. "Didn't we get it off of you at the galaxy warp?"

"Yeah," Peridot grumbled as she crossed her arms and glared, "because you poofed me! These limb enhancers aren't meant to be taken off otherwise."

So they could be taken off. A flicker of hope went off inside of Emmet. 'So it's possible to remove?"

"Not without taking the parts it's linked too with it."

He was stuck with it. He was stuck with a robot arm, forever. He couldn't even hear what the others were saying at that point. He just stood up and walked away. He didn't even know where he was going. He just reached a cliffside overlooking Beach City and sat there. It was a beautiful view, he could see all the way to the ocean as the sun set in the horizon. The light set off brilliantly against the ocean and bathed the land in a shining opalescent light. But he wasn't in the mood to enjoy it. He could vaguely sense Number Two sitting beside him. He could also tell someone was coming up from behind. When they sat beside him on the grass he could see in the corner of his eye that it was Amethyst. They didn't speak for a few minutes.

Amethyst was the first to break the silence. "You okay, dude?"

"No."

It was another few minutes before she sighed and scratched her head. "Do you like…wanna talk about it?"

"No."

She groaned. "Ugh, why not, what's the problem? Is it really that bad, having a cool robot hand?" She didn't get it, which was fine. He didn't really get it either. When he didn't answer she just gave a frustrated huff. "Look, I'm not…I'm not really good at this whole talking about your feelings thing. Steven's way better at that than I am. I could go get him if it'd make you feel better."

It really wouldn't. He just wanted to sit on that cliff and think about nothing until…he didn't know when. He missed Bubblegum. He had Number Two, but he wanted someone he could have a conversation with. It took him a few moments before he realized that he did, and he was being a jerk about it. "You ever feel…not good enough?"

Amethyst actually looked shocked at the question, before she turned away. "Maybe, why are you asking?"

"I found this arm by accident. And ever since then every time I try and do something good with it I end up messing up somehow." He flexed the…well it was apparently now his hand. That was so weird. Now when he looked at it and squeezed it didn't really feel like he was pressing buttons to bend the fingers. They almost felt like his fingers. He didn't know how to deal with that.

"Don't sweat it. I mess up all the time, it happens." She shifted and started to look uncomfortable.

"Yeah, but what if I mess up because this isn't what I'm supposed to do?"

"Well, what do you think it is you should be doing?"

Rafting, sailing the rivers and staying ahead of his responsibilities as long as he could. That was his automatic answer, but the more he thought about it the more wrong it felt. Even without the arm could he really let Bubblegum rebuild Ocean Town alone? Or ignore what he knew and just let gem monsters run amok? Could he really be the guy on that raft before he found something impossible?

"Why do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Keep going, why do you keep going? Keep saving the day, time after time despite messing up? Why be the hero?"

Amethyst shrugged. "I was made here. I didn't come from homeworld like Pearl, and Garnet…and Rose. Earth is the only home I've ever had. I can't just let it get ruined. All my stuff is here. Plus I love a good fight."

Emmet couldn't really relate to the last part. But everything else though…

"I live here too, and now I have the power…the responsibility to keep people safe." Whether or not he deserved any of it…he supposed it would be a matter of time before he found out. He stood up and looked at Number Two. His friend gave him a cheer and a hug. Looking over at Amethysts he gave her a warm smile. "I have a robot arm now. Cool, I guess." It was so much to deal with. But he hadn't made it this far by overthinking things. He'd done it by moving forward. This was forward…he guessed.

"That's the spirit dude." She went for a high five and he reciprocated with his normal hand. "Now let's get back. I wanna rub the fact that I'm a good listener too in Pearl's face."

Emmet could only laugh at that and all three of them headed back to the barn together. Surprisingly though everyone else was already there. Including a blue Crystal Gem he didn't recognize.

"Hey Emmet," Steven said awkwardly. "We heard about the arm, sorry."

Emmet looked around the group and saw the sympathetic looks he was getting from all of them. Then he looked at Number Two and Amethyst, who gave him determined nods. He patted their shoulders before standing fully and addressing the group.

"It doesn't matter, if this is my arm, then it's my arm. It's a lot of responsibility, but it's mine, chosen or not. If having this thing means I can protect people, then I guess I have to." He got nods from the group, and Steven was even looking a little misty eyed. Now here came the hard part. "I still don't know anything about this arm though, how it works, or how to train with it. I know it's a lot to ask…but could you guys help me?"

The gems quickly got in a group huddle and quickly began a discussion. Steven and Connie came over and patted Emmet on the back. They excitedly went over the days training before the gems stopped talking and stood in front of a very nervous Emmet.

They all looked serious, Pearl spoke first. "Emmet Irvin, your request has been reviewed. Upon going over what Amethyst and Steven have told us of your abilities and personality we came to a decision. And that decision, after much revision, is-"

"You're in." Garnet interrupted. Pearl looked flustered and Amethyst just laughed as she complained. Peridot gave him a nod while the blue gem just rolled her eyes and walked inside the barn. Emmet was just confused.

"I'm…what?" He was suddenly gripped in a hug by Steven.

"You're in!" Steven yelled excitedly ass he squeezed. Man, was he strong. "Welcome to the Crystal Gems!"

"On a trial basis, Steven" Pearl added. Garnet nodded and Amethysts shrugged. "We'll need to see if he's up to the task." That was fair. Emmet realized that the group probably saved the world on a regular basis. They'd need to be sure all they're members could hold their own in the field. The Ocean Town dam would have probably been a cakewalk to them.

"Congratulations," Connie said ecstatically, "I guess you're joining us for training after all."

"Yeah," Emmet said chuckling as Steven put him down, "I guess I am."

He had just joined a group of alien rebels who kept the world safe. It was awesome. He just hoped he would be able to match their expectations.

He hoped he'd be able to match his own too.

* * *

 **Hello everyone, I'd just like to say thank you to everyone whose followed the story up to this point. The Favorites, follows, views and reviews really are appreciated and i'm glad people are liking the story. As of now this chapter marks the end of the Intro arc of Emerald Huntsman. Next chapter will mark the beginning of the next part of the story, the Intern arc. I'll be following the plot of the show as closely as possible, with event's happening as they should and Emmet and Number Two's involvement being on the periphery as they learn the ropes of being a Crystal Gem. I've got bitter training, awkward dinners, an impossible standoff, a double date to remember and a dark return all lined up and on their way in the coming chapters. Thanks again everyone and I hope you enjoy reading the story as much as I like writing it.**


	11. First Steps

The biggest problem with Emmet's arm was the power supply. He couldn't rely on lightning strikes or trips to the kindergarten every time he needed a recharge. Luckily Peridot had found a solution.

"It's so simple, yet brilliant. I've truly outdone myself this time." She preened as she messed with the arm. "Since the connections there, all that needs to be done is to increase it."

Emmet just sat there pretending to listen to her as she went on about the arms mechanics. What he managed to gleam from her mutterings is that since the arm wasn't siphoning any energy, they'd have to change that. It'd start using his body's energy to fuel itself.

They had decided to work on the arm in the barn. Peridot felt more comfortable there and had already claimed that she was in the process of settling in with Lapis, so she didn't want to interrupt the process. Said roommate left the two alone while they were working on the arm. She barely said more than a handful of words to Emmet and Number Two. Usually she just waited for Peridot to take a break and come watch some more Camp Pining Hearts. Something about her felt familiar. Not good familiar either, more like he got a sense of weird danger whenever she was nearby. He couldn't find it in himself to consider the distance she maintained to be a bad thing. Number Two seemed to agree, considering the way he shrank away whenever she came by.

"I got it!" Peridot shrieked as she input some more commands into the arm. "The siphon should be working now."

Emmet lifted the arm…his arm, and he could tell the effects immediately. What once felt like smooth movement he barely noticed now took effort. Every twitch and squeeze of the mechanical fingers was like wearing heavy duty gloves. It was hard and straining, but the feeling came through much clearer. "Well I feel it, now how do I change it?"

"Just move your fingers to their positions. It isn't that hard."

"You obviously don't know how human fingers work."

Peridot just huffed at that and gestured to her own hand. "Mine don't look too different from your gooey meat hooks. You're just not trying hard enough."

Emmet sighed as he started to focus on the hand. Moving the fingers around normally was weird. But doing the blaster modes normal configuration would be impossible. When he tried to move the fingers they wouldn't feel pieces of the arm, they'd feel like his fingers. And fingers didn't make propellers or crazy blasters.

"See, not even trying, what's the point of even keeping the arm?"

"I am trying," Emmet snapped. "It's just weird. I can move it like a normal hand, but normal hands don't change into different modes like yours can."

"Well, how does the human push pad change modes?"

"It doesn't…" Well, that wasn't entirely true. Looking at his hand he curled all of the fingers except for the index finger and raised his thumb up.

Peridot looked at the hand confused. "What is that supposed to be?"

"A finger gun," Emmet explained. Just a simple finger gun, little kids could do it. The thought that it could work was ridiculous. He dropped his thumb as though to fire and gasped as energy coursed through his body. It culminated in the hand and as the thumb pressed down fully there was a glow at the end of his index finger. Energy shot from it and blew another hole in the barn roof. Number Two, who had been relaxing and reading a magazine nearby, was suddenly showered in bits of dust and debris. He got up and walked away, grumbling annoyed, while Emmet and Peridot looked at the hole incredulously.

"Well," Peridot said coughing into her hand, "humans apparently do have a way to change modes."

"Yeah…" Having the wordless blaster option available was good. He had no idea how he was going to do propeller mode though.

"How does the…hand feel?" She used the human term hesitantly, feeling it out before saying it.

"I don't know." It felt really weird, that was for sure. He could barely feel his index finger at all. It was like it had fallen asleep. It barely responded and when he tried flexing it there was a painful prickle in his hand. "I don't know if I can fire it again."

"Well don't try it in here!"

Emmet nodded and they moved outside. Number Two set up some cans on a nearby fence and stood next to Peridot. The two looked at him expectantly as he took aim at the can. Breathe in, breathe out. He 'fired' but there was no shot. Just a fizzle and an increase in the prickle, Emmet sighed.

"Nothing, this finger seems tapped out."

"Why not try another one?" Peridot said huffily, Number Two grumbled in agreement.

An interesting idea, it was worth trying. He set up to shoot again. This time extending his index and middle while taking aim, when he fired a shot flew out and smacked it off the fence. Number Two gave out a cheer while Peridot began to praise herself…again. His middle finger had gone numb too, but something was off. When he used his ring finger to fire at the next can he blew it off the fence with ease. But instead of completely annihilating the can like he expected it just smacked it back like the other.

"The shots are weaker than before."

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Well duh. Weaker power source means weaker shots. You're frail human body cannot provide the energy my superior gem form can, thus it cannot fire a blast as powerful."

Meaning more energy meant more power, that made sense. He'd just have to find a way to increase what he could provide. He fired shots off from his pinky and for the thumb he discovered he could aim it forward and fire by squeezing his index finger like a trigger. So he had five weak shots before recovery, and no propeller mode. What a Crystal Gem he was turning out to be. A thought occurred as he tried squeezing the robot fingers in an attempt to shake off the numbness.

He turned to Peridot. "Can I still clench my hand or grab something without firing a shot."

She seemed to think it over. "It should be fine, the limb enhancer works through the mental link. It fires when you think it should."

That was good, so only in finger gun mode. About an hour later he could feel his fingers again. But by then a new problem had cropped up.

"I…feel…exhausted…" Emmet croaked out from face down on the floor. He felt awful, like he was too hungry to sleep and too sleepy too move. "Peridot, if I die…Number Two gets all my stuff."

"You don't own anything."

"That is true, "he groaned out as he lay there moaning, Number Two poked him with a stick and all he could do was swat weakly at him. He could hear the warp pad go off in the distance, the sound of feet shuffling nearby soon followed. Suddenly he was being shaken.

"Emmet, Emmet," He realized it was Steven, who was holding him and shaking him, hard. He could only groan weakly in protest.

"What'd you do to him?" That sounded like Amethyst. As he blearily opened an eye he could see it was Amethyst by the color, he had lost the ability to solidly define shapes at this point, she was leaning down to get a good look at him. Judging by the other colorful shapes nearby the rest of the Crystal Gems had come with her this time.

"Peridot, we leave him with you for less than a day and this happens." There was Pearl. "No wonder Steven was so worried."

"Steven said Peridot and Lapis were probably doing a great job." Garnet interceded. "Amethyst said that if we did such a good job at taking care of Steven then they would figure it out too. You responded by running for the nearest warp pad."

"And we were…are…I am doing a good job at taking care of a human!" Peridot screeched from somewhere. "I have been doing a great job, so good Lapis left all the work to me! If the humans like this it's probably his own fault somehow."

"He hasn't spoken to Lapis at all?" Emmet couldn't tell who that was because his senses suddenly blurred out and he gave out another groan. Two groans actually, the other one coming from his stomach.

"What was that?"

"He's hungry?"

"Peridot, you do realize humans need food to survive?"

"They don't just do that for fun, like Amethyst?"

Emmet heard a sigh. "No Peridot, it's how their body creates energy, unlike gems they need fuel."

"How was I supposed to know that? Besides, shouldn't he know when he needs food?"

She had a point. When she said the arm drew energy from his body he hadn't thought of how his body would provide that energy. He just assumed it would come from…like his soul or something?

"So he's hungry, let's just get some food in him. There's plenty of junk around here to eat. I think I saw some cans over there."

"Stay away from my cans!"

"How about I just take him to town and we'll eat there. No training today so I can spend it helping him out." Emmet was suddenly in a piggyback position being hefted with ease on Stevens back. He was taller but that didn't really matter when Steven could lift him like a bag of groceries.

"Bring me back some more cans."

With that they were off and Emmet soon regained enough consciousness to see that he was back in Beach City. They were on the boardwalk. Number Two was playing with some seagulls nearby. Emmet also saw that he was getting some odd looks from random passerby's. He motioned to complain but all he could get out was an annoyed grunt.

"Nearly there," Steven said cheerfully. Emmet looked up to see that they were in front of some kind of pizza restaurant. When they went inside he saw that they seemed to be the only visitors. Suddenly a man appeared right in front of them.

"Ah finally, customers, welcome to Fish Stew Pizza the finest pizza in Beach City."

"Hey Kofi, how are you today?"

The man did a double take. "Ah Steven, my favorite frequent customer…and you have brought others this time, excellent!" He yelled something in a foreign language towards the kitchen and ushered the three to a table. "Please wait here while out waitress comes out and takes your orders. He headed into the kitchen yelling while Steven plopped Emmet down in a seat and sat himself next to him and Number Two. Soon a young woman came out with a notepad to the table.

"Hey you guys, can I take your order?"

"Hey Kiki," Steven said with his usual smile. "Um, I don't know, what do you feel like Emmet?" Emmet could only groan. He weakly snaked his arm on top of the table in an attempt to grab the menu but fell short and gave up. Kiki gave him an odd look and Steven just chuckled nervously. "I think we'll just go with a cheese pizza and some waters."

Number Two cheered as he got his water and drank it quickly before demanding more. Before long the pizza was brought out, Emmet perked up as he smelled the food placed in front of him. He couldn't really say what happened next. It was all a blur, and when he finally came to his senses his vision cleared and he saw that he was getting odd looks from everyone in the restaurant. He looked at the empty platters in front of him.

"What happened to the pizza?"

Steven just looked at him confused. "You…ate it."

That didn't make any sense, he barely felt like he had eaten anything. "How much of it did I eat?"

"…all of it."

"Right, I ate a whole pizza without noticing."

Steven traded another confused look with Number Two. "No, you ate two. You ate the first one so fast I ordered another pizza and you ate that one too."

"Yeah man, you demolished those pizzas." Kiki said.

"I think you unhinged your jaw like a snake." A girl who looked just like Kiki said from next to her. He had no idea when she had arrived. "It was wild."

"Jenny," Kofi yelled from the kitchen, "stop gaping at the snake boy and go deliver your orders."

"Ugh, fine, Kiki record him eating the next one. The guys are going to love it." Jenny left and Emmet groaned.

"Why am I snake boy now?"

"It could be worse," Steven said shrugging. Number Two grumbled in agreement. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Mildly, can we get another pizza? I promise I won't eat it all this time."

"Sure," Steven said before ordering. As Kiki left back to the kitchen Steven turned back to him with a concerned look. "So what happened?" Emmet explained everything that had happened up to that point and Steven nodded understandingly. "The Gems say that since I'm part human and part gem I need to eat a lot too. So I eat at every restaurant I can, as often as I can."

"Steven's everyone's best customer," Kiki said as she came out with another pizza. She put it down on the table and Emmet could feel everyone's eyes on him as he reached for a slice. There was an annoying mixture of relief and disappointment when he took only one. "Can I get you guys anything else?"

"We're good for now, thanks Kiki." Steven said as he took a slice for himself. Kiki nodded and went back into the kitchen.

As Emmet ate he noticed that he wasn't starving, but he wasn't full either. "How much do you have to eat a day?"

Steven chewed and swallowed before thinking about it. "Um, I don't know. On a good day I get full after like," he counted off on his fingers, "three or four pizzas?"

Well Emmet had eaten two, so he should be nearing his limit. But Steven's powers could be turned off, arm couldn't. The average amount of calories in a pizza was like three thousand. So four was around twelve thousand calories, meaning he'd need probably up to twenty thousand calories a day to keep functioning. This was getting complicated though, so he needed a way to keep track of it all. There was one idea he had been meaning to try.

"Arm, data pad mode." He was surprised when the arm answered back.

"Voice command accepted," Emmet sighed as Peridot's voice came out of the arm. She must have modified the settings when she was messing around with it earlier. "Data pad activated, clod."

The fingers took the octagonal shape of the data screen and he used the one left to scroll through the screen. Looking over for a moment he could see Steven and Number Two gaping at him. "What?"

"You can still use your voice to control the arm?" Steven asked incredulously. Number Two grumbled something accusatory and Emmet just shrugged.

"I didn't know I could until just now."

"Can you do the other modes too?"

"I'm going to have to check and see." Judging from how his fingers were rapidly numbing the energy drain in pad mode wasn't much better than using the arm as a cannon. It felt weird having the fingers in screen mode too. They felt completely wrong, like they were being forced into the position and he started to feel them cramp up. He noticed that he could read the symbols on the screen now, which was interesting. The mental link must have come with a free translation download. It was all technical jargon he'd have to ask Peridot about but it was a start. He focused on a calculator and it popped up on screen. After a few calculations he came to one conclusion. "I'm going to need a lot of food."

Steven squealed excitedly. "We can be food buddies, foodies! Go around and taste all the fine cuisine Beach City has to offer." Number Two grumbled in agreement with him, he swirled the water in his glass and grumbled haughtily like a upper class connoisseur.

Emmet changed his hand back to normal and brought them to his chin in a thinking position. "How would we pay for it though?"

"Oh, my dad can help. He's been giving me and the gems food money for years."

"But can he afford to feed the both of us?"

"Sure, now that he's rich it'll be fine."

"…come again?"

The rest of the afternoon was spent talking about Steven's dad. The man's time as rock star, leading to his fateful meeting with Rose Quartz after a concert, ditching his jerk manager to be with her, and said jerk managers return with a hefty paycheck. By the time they had reached the stories end they were already back at the temple and the sun was setting. When they entered Steven's house they saw the gems around the counter discussing something. They quickly hushed up as the trio entered.

"Hey you two," Pearl said with a smile. "I hope you enjoyed yourselves today. Emmet, how is the arm?"

Emmet suddenly felt skittish. The gems had put their faith in him and he was already running into problems day one. He was barely a Crystal Gem and it was already a disaster! He sent a nervous look over to Steven who gave him an understanding smile.

"Just tell them," he said in a way too loud whisper. "They'll understand, they want to help you."

"Tell us what?" Amethyst asked. Pearl just raised an eyebrow and when Emmet looked at Garnet she just gave him a subtle nod.

He swallowed his fear and stood up straight before addressing them. "I…I'm not as strong as I was before. The arm is weaker, because I am weaker than the power source I'd been using. I also need way more food now to fuel it and keep from ending up in a state like I was in earlier." There, all the problems he'd been facing were out there. He braced for their reactions.

""Hmm, this does pose some problems." There it was. They were probably going to kick him out now. "His body needs to learn to handle the strain of the arm. I'll have to devise up a new training regime for him." Wait, what?

"I'll help him with the food situation. Between me and Steven we're gonna clean this city out and get him eating!"

"It is between Steven and I, Amethyst."

"You're going to help us?"

"...I'll pass. But yes that sounds like a good plan, Garnet?"

"We'll get him in shape, and then we can see where to go from there."

"Oh, perhaps then he can begin training with Connie and Steven. They could certainly use some variety of opponents in their training."

They continued to make plans and Emmet could only look at them slack jawed. When he headed back to the barn that night he headed towards it with Number Two with a racing mind. He had plans to go train with Steven, his dad and the two workers from the Big Doughnut in the morning. Pearl had said that he'd have to increase his body's energy output, which meant he'd have to make it as strong as he could, and the exercise group would be a good start. Amethyst had agreed to come with him and Steven to go food shopping to see what filled him up the fastest. It was all too much. He could hardly thank them all before heading out. As he reached the barn however he saw that the day wasn't over yet.

"Emmet, how is my limb enhancer?" Peridot said from the barns second floor. She seemed to be in the middle of another marathon with Lapis.

"It's good. I found out some new stuff that should help out with my training. I'm fine too by the way, thanks for asking."

"You're welcome. Now be quiet, the shows just getting-whoa!" She suddenly fell over the rafter's edge and was quickly headed towards the ground. She screamed and Emmet moved to catch her but something beat him to it. A tentacle of water sprouted from the second floor and wrapped itself around Peridot's waist, stopping her inches from the floor.

"Are you alright?" Lapis called down. That voice…

"Wow, thanks Lapis." Peridot called up.

The water tentacle seemed familiar too. Like he had seen it before somewhere, it wasn't a pleasant feeling. Steven had explained that there were multiple versions of the same gem. The Lapis Lazuli he had faced was nothing like the one he roomed with. So what was it? As the tentacle brought Peridot back up to the second floor he got a glimpse of Lapis' hard gaze. That was a familiar too. She suddenly looked afraid and turned away and out of sight. They both continued to watch their shows as Emmet and Number Two prepared for bed. They had prepared two small cots to sleep in and as they settled in for the night Emmet found that he couldn't sleep.

The gaze, the water, the voice, Number Two's reaction to her, it was all connected somehow. It nagged at the back of his mind, until one thought popped up that made a terrifying amount of sense. A story he had heard, but never bothered finishing. He felt equal parts foolishness and blinding terror as he came to a very clear realization.

"Malachite."


	12. What We Make of Ourselves

After having a brief discussion in the morning with Number Two they both came to a decision over what do about the Malachite revelation. They ran for it.

"Where are you two going?" Peridot called after them from the barn.

"Visiting Steven, we'll bring you back some cans!" Emmet yelled without looking back as the two sprinted for the warp pad. He wasn't bringing back any cans.

"Wow, thanks!"

They reached the pad and Emmet teleported them to Steven's house. It was quiet with the sun just starting to come up over the horizon. Its light barely lit up the place but Emmet knew his way around enough to know where he was going. He ran up the stairs and leapt up unto Stevens's bead. The boy was snoring pretty loudly so he gripped his shoulders and began to shake hard.

"Steven, wake up! Wake up Steven! Stop being asleep, be awake, and more alert than you currently are!"

Steven woke with a start and blearily wiped the tired from his eyes as he looked at Emmet and Number Two confused. "Hey guys, I know you're joining our exercise group but we usually don't start for…" he looked at the clock on his night stand, "three more hours."

"Why didn't you tell us that Lapis is Malachite?" That woke him up.

"W-w-what are you talking about?" He said with a nervous chuckle, he couldn't make eye contact either. "No she isn't."

The glare he was getting from Emmet and Number Two wasn't helping him maintain his lie. Emmet didn't appreciate being kept out of the loop.

"I know it's her, it all adds up. So why lie, is she still dangerous? She's smaller, that's for sure." Not that size mattered, considering any of the gems could easily wreck him in a fight.

"No, no, no, she's not dangerous at all…to us…often. Well the point is she's not Malachite anymore. Look I'll explain everything."

"Please do."

So Steven proceeded to tell Emmet and Number two the tragic story of Lapis Lazuli. Her imprisonment in the mirror, to her freedom, her attempt to use the world's oceans to make some kind of giant ladder to space, imprisonment again, her return with Peridot and some jerk called Jasper, another sort of imprisonment for a third time via fusion, and finally the defeat of Malachite leading to her living in the barn. Lapis had it rough.

"So don't be too angry with her. Lapis is complicated." Complicated was a nice word for it. Emmet only groaned and exchanged a look with Number Two. They should be angry, they were definitely scared. But at the same time wasn't the point of everything they were doing to help people? From what Steven said she just wanted a place to call home. Malachite may have tried to eat them but at the same time it was a fusion made to try and stop Jasper from causing more havoc. The attempt failed but it was a weirdly selfish heroic self-sacrifice on her part. It was all really confusing. Emmet realized that Steven was still waiting for a answer.

"We've done stuff we aren't proud of either." Number Two nodded sadly in agreement as he crossed his arms. "I think we're going to need some time to think it over. She did try and eat us, and she did eat a few of Number Two's friends. Is it cool we crash here for a bit?"

Steven wasn't too happy about the reason, but he was still ecstatic at having guests again. A few hours later the three of them got up and got dressed before heading outside where the exercise group was waiting.

"Hey guys, Emmet's going to be working out with us today."

Sadie gave him a smile. "Oh, hey you're robot hand guy and-"

"Oh man is that Watermelon Boy!" Lars interrupted as he rushed forward to shake Number Two's hand. "It's so cool to meet you. Can you sign my shirt?"

"Lars there was like a hundred watermelon boys attacking the city a few months ago. You weren't this excited then. Besides you already met Number Two!"

"Yeah, but that was before I knew he was a celebrity! Like from Ocean Town, he's a hero!"

"Steven's a hero too you know."

"Yeah, but not like a famous one."

The two continued to argue as Steven guided Emmet over to an older guy. He was a stout man with a scruffy beard and receding hairline. The hair he did have left was long and flowing, it practically went down to his legs.

Steven introduced him. "Emmet, Number Two, this is my dad. Dad this is Emmet and Number Two."

"Hey you two, how's it going?" He asked as he shook both their hands.

"It's going. You must be the millionaire huh?"

"Yeah, that's a more recent development," he said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

With the introductions finished they got to the workout. It was pretty lax, with everyone doing a fair amount of work before calling it quits. It felt wrong to stop so soon but everyone agreed that they had enough for now and went on with their days. All except Emmet, he looked at his arm and squeezed. His body wasn't putting out enough energy. He wasn't strong enough, not yet. But he'd get there. So he started a small jog along the beach. The next day the jog around the beach became a jog around the pier, the day after that it was around the city. His morning workouts with the others became more intense. He put more effort into every pushup, sit-up and squat until he was putting everything he had into his exercises. By the end of most days he was completely exhausted, covered in sweat and gasping for air. Number Two usually helped by cheering him on or being the perfect workout buddy. He never seemed to run out of energy.

With Steven's help he balanced his meals so he was eating healthier than ever. Thoughts of his past failures drove him forward and no matter how nasty the concoction Steven made he drank. With Peridot's help he began testing out his arms other modes. The propeller still worked on voice command but it was exhausting to use and burned through his energy quickly. He quickly learned that using it in bursts was the best course of action. Activating the arms cannon mode with words shifted it back to its original formation too. But firing it cost an entire hands worth of energy, still had a crazy amount of kick though, so it'd make a good emergency option. The taser hand option still worked too. It drained energy as quickly as he expected but it would make for an amazing close range weapon. This brought him to the next big step he'd need to take: training.

Thinking back to the canyon and remembering how close the mutants had got to him sent shivers up his spine. With the cannon mode being less reliable he'd need to be sure he could threats close and far. So he needed to ask someone who had hand to hand combat skills to help him in that department.

"Please, I need your help and you're the only person I know to ask. Will you train me?" He didn't like to beg, but this was his only option.

"You want my help?" Amethyst could only look at him, her one eye blinking in confusion. "Wouldn't you rather have Garnet or Pearl training you?" They were in the temple, Emmet had caught Amethyst going through the pantry and he'd stopped her to ask for her help. She was the best choice for the job.

"Pearl's busy with Steven and Connie. She won't help me until I'm at their level and I don't have that kind of time, I want to help now." Connie had been going through physical conditioning for years with all the sports her parents had made her do, and Steven was…Steven. Even pushing his limits like he was wouldn't let him catch up to them anytime soon. "And I know you more than I know Garnet." Not to mention the taller gem still kind of intimidated him. "So can you teach me to fight without needing a weapon, like you do?"

"Who says I don't need a weapon to fight?" Amethyst said feigning boredom with a flip of her hair. Emmet just responded by handing her a piece of paper. Her eyes widened as she saw that it was a flyer for the next Beach City underground wrestling night. Featuring a poorly hand drawn picture of the two of the leagues stars, Purple Puma and Tiger Millionaire.

"I found that flyer on one of my jogs." At first Emmet thought I was some kind of weird joke, it was so clearly Steven and Amethyst. But when he had talked to Lars about it the guy proceeded to show him every one of Purple Puma and Tiger Millionaire's matches on his phone. He had spouted praises about them for like an hour before Emmet just left. "I saw some videos of you fighting. Not much competition but you're good, really good."

"You want to learn to wrestle?"

"I want to learn to fight close range like you do. Teach me, please?"

It took the promise being her prank assistant for a month before she agreed to show him some moves. They agreed to train near the barn. Partly so that the others wouldn't bother them, mostly so Emmet's training would be a lot easier.

"C'mon, get up I barely even threw you that hard." Amethyst said as she looked down at a wheezing Emmet. He lay on the grass gulping down air as she tapped her foot bored in her Purple Puma form. Hand to hand combat training was going slowly. He stood up only find himself flipping through the air and landing on another pile of grass, which hurt, a lot. He couldn't imagine doing this kind of training at the stone arena Amethyst told him the others trained at. "More dodging less wheezing dude or we could take nap instead, that sounds like more fun."

"No," he said getting to his feet. "Let's keep going."

Hours later he could barely move, only lay face down and try not to faint or lose his lunch. Amethyst hadn't even batted an eye the entire training session. She just looked tired of it all. "Meh, this is kind of boring now. You really want to do this for a whole month?"

Emmet only nodded and shakily rolled over so that could push himself back up. He got back into the fighting stance Amethyst had shown him and gestured for her to come at him again. He didn't think he could speak clearly at this point if he tried. Amethyst just rolled her eyes and did the same.

"What are you two doing?" A voice called out. Emmet and Amethyst froze before turning and finding Peridot nearby looking at them.

"Oh hey Peri, um, we're not doing anything important."

"Yeah Peridot we're just…hanging out, in a field, yep."

She didn't look like she was buying it. "The Emmet missed his daily check-up. I have had nothing to do all day."

"Why don't you just hang out with Lapis?"

"She has been gone for days. I've been waiting for her so we can watch the Camp Pining Hearts season six finale."

Emmet and Number Two exchanged worried looks. "Where does she go?"

"She goes to that cliff that looks over the sea, and just sits there, for hours. When I ask her about it she just mumbles something about thinking. When I ask her to keep watching the show with me she just says later. It's infuriating!"

Lapis seemed to be going through some stuff. Peridot seemed to be dealing with the fallout. It wasn't like Emmet didn't get it. Stuck in a barn out in the middle of nowhere with two roommates who are never around and no visitors. It seemed real lonely. Emmet felt a pang of guilt about it but considering the whole deal with Lapis at the moment he didn't really feel comfortable hanging out at the barn. Didn't mean Peridot had to suffer for his awkwardness though.

"You want to hang out with us?" The words were out of his mouth before he even realized he was talking. Amethyst and Number Two's eyes widened while Peridot's narrowed.

"What are you all doing out here anyway."

Emmet sighed, no point in doing this halfway. "Training, I need help and Amethyst agreed to help me. You can help too, just don't tell the others."

Peridot suddenly began to giggle. "Ooh a secret, how exciting! It's just like episode thirty four of Camp Pining Hearts where-""

She just droned on as she sat next to Number Two and Emmet continued with his training. Things went on like this for a few days as Emmet quickly settled into a new routine. Morning exercises with Steven, followed by arm diagnostics with Peridot, before she joined him and Number Two for afternoon training with Amethyst. The little green tortilla chip actually had a lot of insight into how to better use the arm in combat.

"No, no, no, it can move faster than that."

"Use the fingers to dodge too. They can support your weight."

"I don't know why you haven't used the tractor beam already. You could easily flip Amethyst with it."

She said the last one as they were headed back to the barn. Emmet looked at his hand and thought of the possibilities of having a tractor beam. They were all good. As they reached the barn though they walked up to it as Lapis was heading out.

Peridot perked up as she saw her. "Hey Lapis, how were-"

"I have go think for a bit, bye." With that Lapis formed her water wings and flew off towards the cliff.

Peridot sighed and headed inside, she looked so dejected Emmet couldn't help but feel bad for her. Number Two grumbled determinedly and Emmet nodded. It was time to do something.

The next morning during their workout Emmet went up to Steven. He had discussed the plan with Number Two the previous night and they agreed that they needed to approach Steven subtly. He might be the only one who could help Lapis feel better but freaking him out might make him do something drastic.

"Hey, Steven what's up?" So far so good.

"Not much, trainings going well. Pearl says me and Connie might be ready for a real mission soon. What about you, anything new?"

Here it was. He took a breath to calm himself. "Lapis is becoming distant and weird, which is making Peridot and me uncomfortable and very worried about her. She keeps running off to a cliff overlooking the ocean so we're pretty sure she misses the water but is having weird horrible flashbacks to when she was Malachite. Can you help?" Nailed it, Number Two seemed to disagree though. Judging from the way he palmed his face and grumbled something disbelievingly.

Steven just blinked before running over to Mr. Universe. "Dad, we need to buy a boat!"

That evening Emmet explained the situation to the others. Amethyst and Peridot seemed to accept the answer readily enough.

"Yeah, Steven's great at that kind of thing." Amethyst said as she flipped Emmet unto the grass. Instead of landing on his back he managed to roll midair and land on his robot arms fingers. He propped himself up on the five digits and used them to quickly scurry away before flipping back to his feet.

"Yes, while I am sure that I could have resolved the issued on my own, Steven does have a strange ability to deal with emotions." Peridot said nearby. She was playing the Camp Pining Hearts official card game with Number Two on the grass. He was winning, and Peridot wasn't too happy about it. "Blasted melon, I know you're cheating."

"Don't be a hater Peri," Amethyst said as lunged for Emmet only to miss. "Whoa, you're getting fast."

"I kind of have to be." It was true. Their crash course had been going on for a week and the training had ended up honing one ability and one ability only: his dodging. If he didn't want to be painfully flipped then he needed to get out of the way of danger. He would have liked to have learned some combat skills but being able to avoid Amethyst levels of pain was still pretty good.

"Well, are you faster than this?" She morphed back to normal and suddenly began to spin like a wheel. She spun faster and faster until she was a blur of purple before shooting forward like a buzz saw through the ground.

"Whoa, cool!" Emmet yelped as he saw how fast she was coming and leapt up into the air. He switched the arm to propeller mode and brought his legs up just as Amethyst buzzed by skimming the bottom of his shoes.

She grunted as she turned and stopped before bringing out her whip. With a flick of her hand she wrapped it around his leg and began to pull. "Nowhere to go now bud, give up for today yet? Cause I got a pizza at home with my name on it."

"Not yet," Emmet said as he deactivated the propeller and touched the whip with a finger as he landed. Focusing his energy through the arm he activated the taser function and sent electricity through the rope and towards Amethyst.

She dropped it with a yelp. "How'd you know how to do that?"

"Peridot taught me, said it worked on you all the time." Peridot had told him how she had escaped the Crystal Gems whenever they had caught up to her. To be fair it sounded like they were dealing with some team stuff at the time but it was still pretty impressive. Using just her wit and the element of surprise she had managed to elude the most powerful beings on the planet…and Steven. He hoped he could follow her example. He'd never say as much to her though, he was scared that if Peridot's ego got any bigger she would go poof. Didn't stop him from soaking in the stories of how she managed to make her arm a weapon to fear. Speaking of which…

"Hey Amethyst, draw," Emmet said as he aimed his fingers at her.

"Draw wha-"She was interrupted as Emmet unloaded five shots at her in moments. "Whoa!" She dodged two but three got her in the chest and sent her sprawling to the ground. The finger gun might have been weaker than the blaster but it was way faster and left Amethyst stunned on the ground. She groaned as Emmet walked over.

"Gotcha teach," he said as he offered her his flesh hand.

Amethyst got her bearings back before taking the hand and being helped up. "Yeah…you sure did." The words sounded sad, but when he looked at her she just huffed and flipped her hair. "Not bad, for a newbie."

"That was great!" Peridot said running up to Emmet. "I have taught you well apprentice."

Emmet exchanged confused looks with the others. "I'm your apprentice now?"

Peridot just grinned and crossed her arms. "Of course, you inherited my arm and I have taught you to use it correctly. Thus you are apprentice to my genius."

He couldn't really argue, she had taught him as much as Amethyst had in the last few days. "Thanks, I guess."

She gave a haughty laugh. "You're welcome."

Amethyst was abnormally quiet on the way back. When they asked what was wrong she just said she really wanted to get back to her pizza. So she warped out leaving Emmet and Number Two to continue hanging out. Lapis seemed to have left for the cliff already so they all relaxed in the barn and watched the first few seasons of Camp Pining Hearts together. Emmet hated it, but the other two seemed super absorbed in the show so he just sucked it up and watched it with them. It was better than Crying Breakfast Friends but he'd prefer to watch something with actual plot rather than just drama. Or at least something with good drama, sitting there watching teenagers angst was worse than the time he'd been forced to watch The Duchess Approves. At least that movie had some interesting moments.

After falling asleep halfway through season two Emmet woke up to find that the others had stayed up all night watching the show. Looking around he noticed something.

"Lapis isn't around?"

Peridot shrugged. "She hasn't come back from the cliff. Steven came by asking for her earlier and went over there to take her to some surprise."

Oh so Steven was handling the situation. It probably meant he wouldn't be exercising that day so Emmet just went through his usual routine in the area around the barn. When he was done he decided to relax in the barn's pool with Peridot and Number Two. They all just lay back on some pool floaties and relaxed.

"So why do you run around like that? All it does is make you all sweaty and, ugh, sticky."

"I've got to get into better shape to be of any use in the field. Weak body means weak power source for the arm."

"True, but why do you need a strong body when you can just outsmart your enemies? I did and look at me now." She had a point. Going from hunted to lounging in a personal pool was quite the step up. Didn't mean there weren't flaws in her logic though.

"I need every advantage I can get," Emmet said as he reached for a soda can just out of reach. With a wave of her hand Peridot floated it over and he grabbed it before nodding at her appreciatively. "I'm not a gem, half gem or even a human used to this kind of stuff. I need to hone everything I got in order to help you guys keep people safe."

"Yes, I suppose with your inferior body you would need every affordable advantage in combat."

"Yep, and if all else fails I got Number Two for backup." He said toasting the small melon who cheered in response. Suddenly they could all hear flapping in the distance. Looking over they saw Lapis flying towards them. She landed a short distance away and walked closer.

"Hey," she said before looking away and crossing arms uncomfortably.

Emmet realized they were all looking at her in shock. He shook off his confusion and realized that Steven must have done something to get her to take this kind of step. Guilt crept in when he realized that he had put it all on Steven to fix it. What did he expect, some magic pep talk that would get her as fun and peppy as Amethyst? That was crazy. Steven could only help so much. She'd need others to help too.

"Wanna join us?"

She looked at him shocked. "Are you sure?"

Emmet looked at Number Two who gave him a nod and he turned back to Lapis with a smile. "Yeah, relax with us."

"Yes," Peridot said excitedly, "come join us. The water is refreshing today."

Lapis gave her a small nod and stepped on to the water's surface before sitting down. Emmet realized that this didn't freak him out as much as it should have. He figured that he must have been desensitized to this some kind of thing at some point. After a few minutes of semi-awkward silence Lapis spoke up.

"This is nice."

"Yes, my pool creation skills are unrivaled." Peridot preened.

"Uh huh," Emmet said while giving her a dry glare. "It is nice, we all need to relax every once and awhile." He aimed the last words at Lapis who just gave him a confused look. "You should join us more often. It wouldn't hurt to have everyone around more often."

She seemed to be wrestling with something internally before speaking. "I…I thought you and Number Two didn't like me. That you were avoiding me, because of what I did as Malachite."

He could lie and say he wasn't. But this wasn't someone he should lie too, this was a fellow Crystal Gem…sort of. Honesty would have to be the best policy for the moment, for better or worse. "We totally were, to be honest you kind of had us terrified for a bit. You did try and eat us." She nodded sadly. "But you aren't Malachite anymore. So aside from that whole stealing the world's oceans thing you haven't really done anything too bad as Lapis that you haven't already been forgiven for."

She shook her head. "You can't be alright with what I did. That's impossible, you must still be angry about it?" She phrased the last bit like a question. But he could hear the hope in her voice, as small as it was.

"After all this time thinking about it…I still kind of am. I'm also still kind of angry at Number Two's village for trying to sacrifice us both to Malachite. I'm also a bit miffed at Peridot for coming to Earth and causing me to have this arm."

"How is that my fault?"

"Point is you aren't Malachite anymore. I have a hard time getting over stuff but I'd be a hypocrite for judging you while you're trying to change yourself when I'm doing the same thing. You're someone different now than who you were back then. Like I'm different than the guy who found this arm, we're not the people we were back then. " There was no use in looking back. Sometimes you've got to keep going forward no matter what.

"But I still could be," Lapis said as she brought her legs closer to her body. She proceeded to describe her time on the boat Steven had gotten and her subsequent encounter with Jasper. "I…I liked being like that. Can you still say I'm not who I was before when who I am now still thinks like this?"

"Sure, Number Two?"

Number Two grumbled approvingly before looking at Peridot. She just shrugged. "We've all been there. We still kind of are."

It was true. "Number Two and me are runaways, Peridot is a former home world lackey who tried to kill Steven and the crew, and if you think about it all the Crystal Gems are technically war criminal renegades. We all got stuff to make up for and make right with ourselves."

"I don't know…"

"Then let us help you figure it out," Peridot said. "This is our home now. Let's figure out a way to live here the way we want." Emmet was taken aback by how sincere she sounded. It seemed like she really cared about making this work.

"I…okay. I want to try, I need to try." Number Two and Peridot cheered before leaving the pool and excitedly talking to Lapis as they headed back towards the barn. This left Emmet alone at the pool while he thought.

Lapis was opening up, that was a good thing. Everyone at the barn had something to get over and change. Peridot, Emmet, and Number Two had accepted their lives and were trying to make the most of their new situations. But with Lapis there was a shadow constantly looming over her. A constant and present danger that threatened to shatter whatever peace she tried to build. He was still a little wary of her after the whole Malachite thing, but she was trying. And no one deserved to live in fear of having their life ruined at a moment's notice. It wasn't just her in danger either. Jasper was out there, threatening his home and his friends.

He'd have to change that.

* * *

 **It took awhile but now that the new status quo is established we can jump into some new action as the hunt for Jasper begins. If anyone's wondering Emmet's workout consists of: 100 Push up's, 100 Sit ups, 100 Squats and a 10 kilometer run. Every. Single. Day.**


	13. Welcome to Levity

The first problem with finding a psychotic rogue gem was actually locating her. He knew it wouldn't be easy. She'd managed to stay hidden from the Crystal Gems while Malachite sized for months before Steven accidently found her. He could only imagine how hard it'd be to find her again now that she was regular sized. He realized he didn't even know how the Crystal Gems found their enemies anyway. How did they look for corrupted gems? He decided to talk to Steven about it. He didn't like the answer he got.

"What do you mean you just sort of find them?"

Steven shrugged as he continued eating his cereal. They had finished their morning exercises and Steven was celebrating a hard day's workout with a bowl of Sugar Seeds cereal. "They usually come here to Beach City or just sort of show up on missions. They usually hang around the warp pads."

"Maybe they're drawn to what they knew before their corruption?"

Steven just shrugged again. He was getting nowhere here. Maybe asking someone with more expertise on the matter would help?

"Well, we help where we can." Pearl said as she stood beside the laundry machine. They were on the hand extending from the temple. Emmet had no idea how they managed to get electricity up there, when he asked the just told him it was magic. "Whenever we find them we work to defeat our corrupted brethren and bubble them in order to keep them and others safe. As the defenders of this planet it is our sworn duty to-"

"Pearl I get that it's your job to find them," Emmet said patiently. "But I'm asking how it is you find them."

"Oh, we go looking for them. We usually run into them when we look long enough. Or during our missions, oh I remember one time-"

She talked for two hours before he finally got away. He decided he had one other person he could try and ask. Steeling his nerves he approached and sat on the couch.

"Garnet," Emmet said trying to keep from shaking. Looking over he saw the gem look over at him. She was the leader of the Crystal Gems and he still couldn't get over how intimidating she was. Tall, powerful, capable of seeing the future and with her glasses on at all the time it was practically impossible to gauge her reaction to things.

"Emmet." She greeted in the cool tone she usually had.

"I had a question." He swallowed down his fear. "I wanted to know how you find corrupted gems."

She just shrugged. "We sort of just find them. Future vision helps with that."

"But you have no way to actively track them other than just searching and hoping or by luck."

"Nope"

Emmet ended the day fuming as he sat on the couch later with Steven, Connie and Number Two.

"Why are you so worked up about this anyway?" Connie asked. "I don't think the gems would let you go on a mission yet even if you could find corrupted gems."

"That's not the point," Emmet practically growled. "There are monsters running around out there in the world and all we can do is react to them. We should be out there going after them." He didn't mention the fact that a certain rogue gem was out here posing a danger too. But that was neither here nor there at the moment.

"That's not completely true." Steven said as he looked up from the drawing he was coloring. "Sometimes we go out to old gem places. We usually find a corrupted gem there, that's sort of proactive."

Emmet shook his head. "That's not the same as actively finding them. That's guesswork at best, luck at worst. We need something better if we're going to help people before they get hurt."

Number Two grumbled something as he drew next to Steven. After quickly using some pencils he held up a sketch of the earth, there was a grid pattern over it with some spots colored in. Emmet nodded.

"Number Two is right. There are only so many warp pads and gem sites. What about the corrupted gems not near any of them? Wandering outside of your search range? We need a way to hunt them down and poof them before they hurt anyone."

Connie scratched her head confused. "That's a lot of ground to cover. And there are only nine of us. But I don't think Lapis or Peridot would be interested in leaving the barn so that's just seven people willing to go looking, six most days since I have a curfew. I don't think what you're saying is really feasible."

"It has to be. Steven?"

Steven shook his head. "I don't know. I want to stop them from hurting people too but what can we do? The only thing I can think of is using Garnet's future vision but that wouldn't work forever, plus I don't know if she's willing to kiss us that many times."

Emmet chose to ignore the last comment as he brought up his data screen. "Right, I found something when going through the arms functions that seemed interesting. It might help. Do you guys know what a robonoid is?"

Connie and Steven exchanged looks and a little while later they were all in Amethyst's room. The place was a hoarder's paradise. With piles and piles of trash littering the area of the temple as far as Emmet could see.

"Nice…collection you have here Amethyst."

"Aw, thanks bud. I try."

She eventually led them to a certain pile. It didn't look any different from the other mounds of trash surrounding them but Amethyst seemed certain that it was the place. After strategically removing some sections of the garbage the heaps front collapsed revealing what lay beneath. Orbs, a few dozen of them spilled out onto the floor and rolled forward. Emmet looked at Steven confused.

"These are Peridot's old robonoids," Steven explained. "She used to send them to earth to complete her mission. They repaired warp pads back at the galaxy warp. She controlled them with the arm."

They were little robots then. That was interesting. He activated the data pad and after inputting a few commands the effect was instantaneous. Little legs popped out of the orbs and soon they were all standing around them. This was cool. A few more commands later and he had a little army following him out of the room. Number Two was actually riding one. When they exited the room Emmet saw that Pearl and Garnet were standing in the living room talking.

Pearl turned to greet them. "Oh there you all are. Emmet, we were discussing what you were asking earlier and- what are you doing with those robonoids!"

Garnet growled and together the two brought out there weapons and moved forward. Emmet yelped as they approached and Steven quickly stood in front of him and his little army.

"Wait! Emmet has them under control."

They stopped and Pearl tilted her head in confusion. "What, what are you talking about?"

"I found the function that controls these things with the arms data pad." Emmet quickly explained. "I was going to take them to Peridot to see if we could use them to find corrupted gems. Maybe they could help us look for Jasper too."

Pearl and Garnet exchanged worried looks before putting their weapons away. Pearl looked over the small army with a thoughtful stare.

She hummed worriedly. "Alright, getting Peridot might be a good idea. But let's bring her here instead. I don't think having these things in the warp is a good idea."

Minutes later they were all in the living room watching Peridot practically jump around in excitement.

"My flask robonoids, you found them!" She lifted one up and began to kiss it passionately. "Oh sweet, sweet home world technology how I have missed you!"

Emmet coughed and Peridot quickly realized that she had an audience. She put the robot down and hastily took on a more formal attitude. "Yes, well, it seems like they are all intact. Emmet, I want you to try some command functions for me."

After a few hours of Peridot's tutelage Emmet had the robonoids following his every command. They marched, they jumped, and soon he had them doing tricks that made them looks like they came straight from the circus.

"Emmet that's amazing." Connie said he had the robonoids climbed each other to form a pyramid. She clapped along with Steven as they changed formation into multiple shapes. A cylinder, a cone, he stopped when the diamond formation made the gems seem uncomfortable though.

"It's alright," Emmet said as he turned to Peridot. "Can they track corrupted gems though?"

Peridot began to pace as she thought. "It's not impossible. I'd have to develop some new programs to help track a gems signature. They were designed to fix gem technology, not track gems themselves."

They discussed the matters further and soon they were in the barn working on their new project. It took a few days but eventually they had something resembling a tracker in working condition.

"You think it'll work?"

"Of course, I designed it." Peridot said as she stepped back and admired her handiwork. Every robonoid now sported a small antennae attached to it. Supposedly they would help detect any gem in their vicinities and transmit the location back to the arm. "Now to test it and see how quickly my creations accomplish their goal.

So they sent the little robots off through the warp pad to as many locations as their numbers allowed. As they sent the last one off Emmet checked the data screen and saw that they were all transmitting fine all over the world. After setting them to patrol mode he decided to spend the waiting time training. Peridot decided to spend it making some changes to the barn in order to make it feel homier. A few days later he felt the need to address some of her design choices.

"Peridot," Emmet addressed her calmly as he came back from his workout and looked at the barn.

"Yes Emmet?"

"I know I asked if you could fix the hole in the barn. But did you have to use the silo to do it?"

The tower jutted from the side of the barn at an angle haphazardly, a metal tower with an antenna like structure extended out of the other side as well. There were other additions too. For some reason they had stuck the back of a truck above the entrance which now had a tarp covering it instead of doors. Decorations covered the wooden sides and there were now pipes connecting the pool to the now apparently water filled silo. Number Two grumbled something approvingly as he went for a swim.

"You asked me to fix the hole and I did. What's the problem?"

Emmet didn't really have one. The hole was patched up, whatever works, works. But he had something else to address. "What's with all the stuff in the barn now?"

Lapis actually answered that one as she flew down and joined them. "We made music, but instead of sound we used things. I call it meep morp."

"Yes, yes! It's all so amazing, let us show you!" Peridot said excitedly as she led them all into the barn.

It certainly was…something. Emmet couldn't help but feel a profound mixture of confusion and pride as the two guided him around the small gallery they had set up. The cans Peridot had been hoarding were strung up in different places and the piles of trash that had once filled the place were pushed off to the side. In their place were brand new…exhibits.

"-and this one represents the time Steven gave me a leaf." Lapis said as she showed him a dirt mound topped with a single leaf.

"It's very…interesting, Lapis. I like the way that it makes me think of leaves."

"Not leaves, just a leaf."

"…alright."

"Yes, yes, yes, that's all well and good but come here and look at mine!" Peridot said as she dragged Emmet to look at another meep morp on a pedestal. "This one is called Wow, Thanks."

It was an interesting piece consisting of mangled buts of plastic and wires. It seemed to have been made from the pieces of an old tape recorder. Apparently it represented something about communication, Peridot said it made her feel bad but she seemed pretty happy showing it off.

"Your meep morps are all great guys, but um, where I am supposed to sleep now?" Their projects had taken up most of the barns space and he couldn't see his cot anywhere.

"Oh, we made a new sleeping are for you over here." Peridot said as she led Emmet over to one of the barn's corners underneath the second floor. "This should be sufficient." She pulled a string coming from the ceiling and some cloth unfurled revealing a hanging hammock. "We repurposed the materials from the cot and made this. It is a far more efficient way to get your sleep and also lower the space you take up."

Emmet looked at the hammock and brushed his hand along it gently. Brief memories came to mind of sunshine on his skin and the sound of water nearby. He could practically smell the winding river in the air and feel the gentle sway of a hammock between two trees rustling in the wind. When he snapped back to reality he saw that the others were looking at him strangely. He shook off the memories and smiled warmly at them. "Thank you guys, I love it."

"You're welcome." Peridot said haughtily. Lapis just gave him a small smile back.

As they went back to accessorizing the barn Emmet relaxed on the hammock. Number Two lay down nearby and started drawing happily. The two relaxed like that for hours. Just content to let the time pass them by. Emmet didn't even realize he had fallen asleep before an alarm suddenly woke him up. When he activated the data pad he saw that one of the drones had picked up an energy signature in the far north. It looked like it was somewhere deep in the Canadian wilderness.

Emmet got up and called over to Number Two. They quickly got dressed and headed over to the warp pad wearing their warmest clothing. He had told Peridot he was going to check and see if the robonoids were working properly. She scoffed and told him good luck. Letting him go off to the great north with just a watermelon boy as backup seemed a bit irresponsible to Emmet, but she was a Crystal Gem so she must know what was doing.

When they got there Emmet hadn't anticipated it being that cold, but he couldn't have prepared for what the temperature would actually be like. He could feel the chill cut through his clothes with the slightest breeze and his flesh fingers were already numbing underneath his glove. He realized that he may have been too used to beach heat to handle the frozen north effectively. But he had a job to do so he clenched his chattering teeth and headed forward.

As they walked through the vast surrounding forest he saw that Number Two didn't seem to be minding the cold at all. He was running around playing and interacting with the many animals of the forest.

"Number Two f-f-focus," Emmet chattered out. He brought out the data pad. "This says the robonoid detected a gem a few miles from the warp pad, c-c-come on." It took a few miles of hiking before they reached the robonoid and he realized they weren't going to find anything. Whatever activated it must have left a while ago, there were tracks but they seemed old. It couldn't have gone far though. Whatever it was should still be nearby. He decided against contacting Peridot with the information though. No use in bothering her with incomplete data, he needed to be sure what passed had been a gem.

It was getting dark though and, while Number Two had somehow managed to get a deer to let him ride it, he was stuck using his feet. He could use the arms propeller mode but if it was that cold on the ground then he doubted it'd be any warmer up in the air being directly hit by the temperature. The sun was setting though so shelter was a must.

"Number T-t-two, let's look for somewhere to rest for the night." Maybe there was a cave nearby? The arm might not be able to tell him where any human cities or locations were but it actually had a pretty efficient physical and topographical map built in. It must have something to do with the gems and their kindergartens. Number Two mumbled something nearby but Emmet was too focused on the map to look away.

The place was classic forest land. He'd passed by a few on his raft way back when. Hills dipping into valleys all lying in the shadow of the surrounding mountain range. There were tree's everywhere, he couldn't see far in any direction without having his view obscured. If gems were stalking the area then they'd picked a great place to do so. Number Two grumbled again and Emmet looked up from his map.

"What is it dude? I'm trying to find-"He saw that Number Two was pointing to something in the distance. Lights, it looked like there was a town. "Oh." He put away the map, picked up the robonoid and together the two walked towards the light source. When they got nearer he saw that it was a town. A small one, with no roads bare one leading in the opposite direction towards the mountain pass in the distance.

Walking through he saw that it was as small town as small towns get. There were just a few people milling around minding their own business and some buildings. No one gave the stranger and the watermelon boy riding a deer a second look. "This is weird. This place is weird right?"

Number Two grumbled something worriedly and dismounted his deer when some of the townsfolk were giving it a hungry look. With a pat he sent it back off into the forest as the two made their way forward.

"You're right. I'm getting some Lovecraft vibes too." It was the kind of place that seemed like it sacrificed the weak to insure a good harvest. Emmet figured they had better find a hotel room pronto…and maybe board up the doors just in case.

Luckily they found a place to stay. The Howlet inn and Lounge, it was three stories tall, made of wood and seemed to have been survived from the settler times. He'd like to say that the place didn't scream cult vibes, but he wasn't in the habit of lying to himself. Heading inside he found the layout simple enough.

There was a main room with a bar, tables and a small stage with some stairs in the back that must have led to the rentable rooms. The place was dark with a scattered few people sitting together in clusters. They all eyed the tow for a moment before returning to whatever it was they were doing. The atmosphere was between drab and dead. The duo walked up to the bar where Emmet sat down before helping Number Two up unto a seat next to him. The bartender eyed them warily.

"Little young to sit up here, aren't you?"

Emmet gave the man a smile, he didn't reciprocate. "We aren't here for a drink, unless you have any Pitt soda." He didn't laugh at the joke. "Right, we just arrived and need a place to stay for the night. Have any rooms available?"

There was a chuckle from around the room. The bartender just sighed. "You must really be new to Levity. There are always available rooms at the Howlet inn and lounge kid." He rattled off the prices before Emmet realized one very crucial fact. They had no money. He sighed as he dropped his head unto the counter. "No cash?"

Emmet moaned and the man shook his head. "This isn't a church kid, you won't find handouts here." He returned to tending the bar as Number Two patted Emmet on the back.

How could he have forgotten to bring any money? True he hadn't expected to need any on this trip but the gems had been drilling preparedness into his head every day. Now he was stuck in the middle of nowhere with no way to pay for anything he needed. He was used to living without money but not anywhere this cold. Maybe he could sleep in a dumpster. He hadn't done that in a while. Before he went looking for one he'd have to make sure this trip wasn't a complete waste.

"Hey," he addressed the bartender who just glanced towards him. "Anything weird happen around here, like really weird?" A raised eyebrow was all he got, he'd need to be more specific. "Like monsters stalking the woods weird." That got a reaction, from everyone in the room.

"Monsters he say monsters?"

"Yeah I saw a monster."

"Does my wife count?"

Apparently there were sightings of massive beast the size of a truck stalking the woods. No one ventured into the woods at night out of fear of encountering them. It sounded like corrupted gem activity to Emmet. He had to report this to the gems. He excused himself and left Number Two on the stool as he headed outside. He put down the robonoid and connected his arm to its antennae. It turns out that homeworld tech was gem tech was even more insanely advanced than he had previously thought. Peridot had shown them him that hooking the arm up to a robonoid meant he could talk to through any other robonoid on earth. Peridot said more advanced models could be communicated with and controlled from as far as home world itself. With a few commands he activated the communication function and the line began to ring.

Peridot suddenly appeared on the screen. "What, what do you want?"

"Peridot, it's me, Emmet."

"I know, I can see your face right there on the screen."

Emmet just sighed. "Look I found evidence of corrupted gem activity in the great north. I need you to tell the others about it so they can come and deal with it. I'm going to investigate further."

"Yes, yes, I'll get around to it."

"They need to know about this, Peridot. It's terrorizing a town out here."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh." She said distractedly looking off screen.

"Peridot, you're not going to let your Camp Pining Hearts marathon distract you from this are you?"

She looked at him scandalized. "What, how dare you! I-zzzz-can't-zzzz- hear-." She was making static noises with her mouth, wonderful.

"You know I can see you making those noises right?" She blinked at him before the call disconnected. Great, he'd probably have to tell the others himself if they wanted to help the town anytime soon. He was tired and cold though, he decided it was best to go looking for that dumpster. He headed back inside but when he looked around he couldn't see Number Two.

"Where did he-"

The stage suddenly lit up and standing up there was a young man. Tan with thick brown hair tied back into a ponytail, he was a thin guy looking nervous to be up there. He seemed really familiar.

"H-h-hello everyone," he stuttered into the microphone. "You all know me, Jamison the garbage man. I come here every night after work, looking up to this stage and dreaming of when I can pursue my true passion: singing. And now with the help of my friend I hope to take the first steps on the path to my dream." Looking to where he had gestured Emmet saw…Number Two, holding a ukulele as he waved to the crowd. Emmet groaned as he realized what was about to happen. Where did the melon even find a ukulele though?

Jamison spoke up again. "I dedicate this to the savior of my life and of my heart. Oh sweet orange Amazonian warrior I dedicate this song to thee." Wait, what? No, no way.

Number Two began with a strum, followed with a series of gentle notes as Jamison began to sing.

 _Oh my great savior how I came to meet thee_

 _In the shadow of the mountain where I go to be free_

 _As I sang a sweet tune a shadow grew near_

 _When I turned towards the shape the monster appeared_

 _Massive and snarling, Geri and Freki's lost brood_

 _It came up right up towards me, in a carnivorous mood_

 _But just as I think I have breathed my last breath_

 _She appeared, my savior, to stave off my death_

All of a sudden there a rift on a keytar and Emmet looked to see Number Two starting to shred on one. Despite having no fingers the melon could play. The tempo suddenly rose and Jamison put on a pair of sunglasses before starting up another verse.

 _She fought the beast like warrior queen would_

 _Took it head to head in a way only she could_

 _She rocked the mountain to the core I tell you_

 _With mighty helmet and war cry forward she flew_

 _My violent savior fought and won against the beast_

 _She fought and won so we could all be free_

 _So sing with me and sing it out loud_

 _Thank you savior you make us proud_

 _Here in Levity where it's so slow and dull_

 _One good things come and breaks us from our lull_

He held the last word as the tempo died down and it was back to a ukulele. Number Two was strumming some casual notes as Jamison took a breath

 _So thank you my violent orange savior for my life once again_

 _I hope we meet once more so that we can be friends_

 _Maybe even more, but that's up to you_

 _I wouldn't mind it but I think it would be cool_

 _You can have my number and we can go and hang_

 _Whatever's good for you, and that's the way it's sang_

'That's the way it's sang'? Weak ending, but decent song, the others thought so too by the way a weak clap went around the room. Jamison gave a deep bow. The guy had given the song his all. But the lyrics had some very disturbing implications. He'd need to know more, he hoped the ideas he was starting to have were wrong.

"Thank you, thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it. I'll be back soon so be on the lookout for Jamison, rising rock star!" He backed from the mic and Emmet rolled his eyes as he approached.

He walked up to Number Two who suddenly started looking sheepish as Emmet gave him a glare. He relented though and gave the melon a thumbs up. "It was a good performance." Number Two seemed to relax and returned the thumbs up.

"You really think so?" A voice said from right next to Emmet, he jumped and looked to see that it was just Jamison. "I mean I know the lyrics weren't perfect but-" he rambled on for like a full three minutes before Emmet stopped him.

"I get it, good for a first try, baby steps you know?"

Jamison shook his head enthusiastically. "Oh yes, and thanks to your friend here I actually gathered the courage to begin. It's such a wonderful feeling, I feel so free!" He gave a small jump and spin. "I cannot thank you enough little friend for your support. No one has ever believed in me or supported me like you have. But where are you two from? I've never seen you around before, and this is a place where everyone knows everyone."

"Oh, we're from…" That was a good question actually. Looking at Number Two he mumbled something before making a wave like motion with his arms. Emmet supposed that was close enough. "Beach City, I guess."

Jamison's eyes widened. "Oh man, you could know my cousin Jamie then!"

"Jamie, Jamie the mailman?" Steven loved the guy, introduced him every time he came around. Looking at Jamison he realized why he seemed so familiar. He looked like he could be Jamie's twin, from his skinny legs all the way to his bushy eyebrows. "Yeah I know him, you know you guys sort of look alike."

"Ah yes," Jamison said with a dramatic flourish," our family often compares us in such a manner. But while we appear similar our paths could not be any more different. While my thespian cousin hears the siren call of the theatre I have chosen the road of the bard. Singing is in my blood and soon I will leave my soul sucking employment for the destiny I was always meant to embrace."

"I don't know I heard garbage men get paid a lot."

Jamison scoffed. "Bah, what use is money when you aren't being true to yourself and your own passions?"

"I wouldn't mind some cash, considering we can't even afford to stay here for a night. We were just going to go looking for a dumpster to sleep in."

Jamison gasped. "Two travelers, my new friends no less, out in this cold world with no place to lay their heads. I won't hear it! You two can stay with me."

Emmet seriously considered it. Between Jamison and the dumpster…it was closer than he'd like to admit. But considering how cold it was sleeping in could end with him freezing to death. As annoying as Jamison seemed to be he couldn't be worse than dying in the cold…he hoped. They all left the inn and Jamison guided them to his house a few blocks away.

It was a mansion. The guy lived in a mansion. It was a classy old timey wooden one too. As they entered the foyer Emmet and Number Two looked around amazed.

"Dude, you live here?"

Jamison sighed. "Yeah, my grandparents founded the place and the men in my family have been the mayors ever since. My older brother Louie is staying late at this office now. He won't be back tonight so he can't tell me anything about having guests over."

Jamison was incredibly generous with Emmet and Number Two. He cooked them dinner, let them take their pick of clothes, and after letting them sleep in one of the manors incredibly fancy rooms, he cooked them breakfast the next morning. All while spouting his thanks towards the two for helping him express who he really was. As they ate a three course breakfast meal Emmet decided to ask Jamison something that had been nagging him since he heard his song.

"Jamison, can you tell me about your orange savior?"

Jamison enthusiastically went into great detail over how he had met her. Like the song said he had gone off into the woods to practice his singing. But he had been attacked by a wolf like monster. Right before it ate him the giant orange woman appeared and beat the beast back before chasing after it into the forest. After he spent some time rambling about her ethereal beauty and his newfound love for her Emmet had him point out where this had happened on his map. It seemed to be near the base of the nearest mountain. After thanking Jamison for everything Emmet and Number Two headed for the edge of town. Emmet went over what he had learned and came to an easy conclusion.

Jasper was here. It had to be her. No one else fit the description like she did. But why was she here? And why was she beating up corrupted gems? It made no sense, but those questions didn't really matter at the moment. What mattered is that he made sure she was still in the area before contacting the gems. Afterword's they could make a plan to capture her.

So Emmet and Number Two headed to the place where Jamison had said he had seen the giant orange woman. The mountain loomed above and Emmet decided to test something out. Picking up the robonoid he had brought with them he connected the arm to the antennae. He manipulated the scanning functions until he had a small radar going. It was pretty short range, but as he noticed some footprints in the snow leading up the mountain he knew he had a way to shorten the distance if who he was looking for was here.

"C-c-come on Number Two," Emmet chattered, "let's find us a warrior."

Number Two grumbled something worriedly as they headed up the mountain. Emmet couldn't believe that it could somehow get colder than it already was. Number Two's attitude wasn't helping.

"I know and I'm t-t-telling you that we need to make sure that she's here. Or it'll all just be a huge waste of time. It's fine, if we see her we'll just fly away." The plan was a simple and proven one, run away and call the gems. Simple plans were harder to mess up.

At one point the wind picked up and the two were forced to take cover or risk freezing. They were pretty high up but luckily there was a cave nearby. As they huddled against the stone wall he wished again that the arm had some sort of heating function. But Peridot had explained that it was made to siphon and use energy, not give it away. It seemed to be a theme with home world tech, take, take, take and never give back. They build arms that suck the life out of you and injectors to birth new warriors from the ashes of once life filled places. He never seemed to get that vibe from the tech the Crystal Gems used though. It was all from a different time back time though. It was as ancient to him as it was to them.

Still it showed that there was a time when the path of progress could have diverged. Maybe the gem empire could have been something different, something less harmful. Peridot went on about the organic possibilities of the earth, and how it could all be studied and used to improve the lives of gems and organics alike. He hoped she was right. Hopefully they'd follow the path to make more like Steven and away from things like him. More unity and symbiosis instead of parasitic leeching, it'd be nice. His thoughts were interrupted as the robonoid began to beep faintly.

He tapped Number Two's shoulder. "We got something, this way." It turned out that the cave they were in led into a deeper network. As they headed further into the dark he used the robonoid to light their way. It gave off a soft glow which made their journey a lot easier. The beeping increased and he lowered the volume as he began to hear something else. It was like a very large hammer was hitting stone. He put the put the robonoid away by sticking it on his back by its little robot legs and slowed his pace to approach as quietly as possible.

When he could hear the hammering right around the nearby corner he went into a crouched and peeked. The robonoids glow could barely light anything that far but it didn't need too. With every slam there was an accompanying flurry of sparks that lit up the small cavern. And showed him that Number Two and he weren't alone in the caves, Jasper was here.

He thought Garnet was big, but that was just because he didn't have another reference point. If Garnet was big, then Jasper was massive. A hulking mountain of muscle and fury that gave off a harsh orange glow that flicked as she sent another blow into the wall that caused the stone she pounded away at to shutter and give. She had some kind of crystalline helmet on and every few moments she reared back her head and thrust it back forward into the wall. He didn't know what she was doing but he needed to report this back to the gems, quickly. He stopped when a glint caught his eye. She suddenly stopped pounding and stepped back. Her glow expanded and his eyes widened as he managed to get a better look at the wall she had been tearing apart.

Gems, there was a grouped together spiky mass of gems embedded in the wall. Jasper laughed triumphantly as she reached in and began to pull at the clump and Emmet had a horrible realization. These couldn't have been regular gems. It must have been some kind of gem mutant, more shards fused together by home world to create monsters. But the size of it…as Jasper pulled at it he could see the thing was the size of a car. The biggest mutant he had fought had a stuck together gem roughly the size of his palm and it had been huge. This one would be absolutely massive, and Jasper was freeing it.

He couldn't let that happen.

He moved from his cover and raised his arm. "Arm I need blaster mode, now!" The arm morphed but Jasper must have heard him. She turned to look at him and he realized what it was like tugging on a tiger's tail. Under her gaze Emmet was reminded of just how out of his depth he really was. But there was no going back now. He got ready to fire as Jaspers eyes went from confusion to anger before a loud crack echoed through the cave. The crack became cracks and soon with a loud crash the wall behind the giant crumbled. The clump of gems was set free and rolled out unto the cavern floor.

And then it began to glow.

* * *

 **Well it wouldn't be Steven Universe without music. This chapter was originally going to be way shorter, with Emmet heading north looking for corrupted gems only to find Jasper like Steven and Connie do later. But with him finally leaving Beach City there came an opportunity to show how differently he operates from the others. The whole chapter was geared towards portraying him as the huntsman the story's title suggests. With him beginning to understand how he might exactly go about tracking the gems scattered throughout the world. I wasn't really expecting the need to write a song but with the introduction of Levity and the creation of Jamison presented an opportunity I couldn't pass up. The idea that Jamie's family has a genetic thing for gems and they express it it through whatever outlet they pick is an interesting one I might use again later. The inspiration for the song is The Ballad of Star Butterfly from Star Vs actually. Which actually had some some really small references peppered throughout.**

 **Again, thank you everyone who has read up to this point and left favorites, follows and reviews. I hope you all enjoy what's to come as we see the result of freeing the giant gem mutant.**


	14. Colossal Mistakes

As Emmet was scurrying though the caves holding Number Two he felt a profound mixture of disappointment and frustration. Having been a trainee Crystal Gem for weeks he had decided that he would work until he could stand his ground against threats. He'd no longer run from a fight. He'd stand his ground like the others would. But it was obvious soon enough that stopping was impossible. As he heard the anguished moans of what amounted to a walking graveyard and furious roar of a very, very angry goliath he could only speed up and try not to scream too loudly in absolute terror.

He broke free of the cave and leapt from the mouth up into the air where he activated the arms propeller mode. It was freezing but he was so pumped full of adrenaline that he couldn't find it in him to care. He flew up higher just as a plume of dust shot out of the cave mouth he had exited and some others along the mountain walls. Right before a massive tremor shook the stone violently. The wails grew louder and the stone gave way in an explosion of dust and debris. When it cleared he could see that the monster had taken form. It was colossal.

It must have been just shy of one hundred feet, it was giving Emmet Malachite flashbacks. But this thing would have dwarfed even her. Multi-colored like its brethren looking like a massive rainbow Frankenstein, with put together limbs moving and squirming all along its body which was vaguely in the shape of a person. A hunch backed person with arms and legs the size of barn silos. The worst part wasn't even the size though. It was the fact that even standing still it looked like it was constantly in motion, the throng of limbs it was covered in never stopped moving. Emmet felt like the thing would haunt his nightmares for the coming weeks, probably even years.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" There was his other problem. Looking down he could see Jaspers outline coming from higher up the mountain. She was yelling pretty hard at the mutant colossus. "I freed you, so you listen to me!" Was she being serious? "You and I are heading to the Beta kindergarten right now, obey me you misshapen freak!"

For an a few moments Emmet actually thought her yelling worked. The Colossus actually turned towards her to look at it with what seemed to be its face, or roughly where its face should be. Jasper seemed pleased by that.

"Yes, yes listen to me!"

She was significantly less pleased as the Colossus raised its arm and swung its…was that a fist? Whatever, it swung its entire arm and embedded it into the mountain. The arm kept going, annihilating a miles worth of rock as it tried to bury Jasper. She managed to evade it though, barely. She leapt up them mountain quickly enough to avoid the arm screaming the whole time.

"How dare you, you giant freak! You-." Blah, blah, blah, angry ranting, with some death threats and insults thrown in, Jasper was on a roll. Pearl was right, the orange gem had issues.

The Colossus didn't seem to have ears, but it didn't seem to like the words considering the way it went after Jasper. What followed was a battle out of a heavy metal album cover. The Colossus chased Jasper across the mountain range, tearing it apart as she dodged and screamed. At one point she managed to get on the offensive. Spinning like Amethyst did she tore up the Colossus' arm and rolled along it until she reached the head. The proceeding slam sounded like a thunderclap, it echoed through the air and Emmet watched as the Colossus stumbled back a step. Which was right before it caught itself and swung it's massive arm at Jasper while she was midair. Unable to dodge this time she took the full brunt of the hit and screamed in anger as she was sent flying far into the forest. Emmet couldn't help but feel a little good about that.

He felt less good as the Colossus started to give chase. The thing was mindless but it apparently had priorities. Emmet was glad to fly out of its way and was relieved it was too focused on Jasper to pay attention on him. The massive thing headed pas towards where Jasper seemed to have landed a few miles away in the forest…in the direction of the town.

"…aw h-e-double hockey sticks they're going to wreck the place." Emmet flew forward ahead of the Colossus and ignored the orange gems war cry below as he kept heading towards Levity. He stopped a few miles short of the place when another thunderclap echoed throughout the area. Looking back he saw that the battle was still fully raging but slow going. It was still headed in the direction of the town though. He dropped Number Two and handed him the robonoid as he input some commands. "Take this and ride it Levity, try and do what you can. Hopefully they're smart enough to evacuate." Number Two grumbled frantically as he hopped on the small robot. "No, I'm going to see if I can try moving that fight away from the town."

Number Two just looked at him incredulously before throwing his arms up and grumbling angrily, Emmet just shrugged.

"Someone has got to try, get going." With that he flew back into the sky and towards the battle being waged. When he got nearer he got a better look at Jasper. She wasn't looking to good. This was a huge plus in his book but made him realize he had to make a choice here. Help the Colossus beat Jasper and hope that it ignored Levity or help Jasper instead. He hated both those options, there had to be a third, so he landed nearby and made a call. Number Two's frantic face filled the screen. "How's the evacuation going?"

Number Two just grumbled quickly and angrily as he gestured behind him. Emmet could only blink at him for a moment before getting angry. "What do you mean they won't evacuate?" Just more frantic grumbling and gestures along with a few images of the town, no own was moving. They weren't even scared, just sort of mildly interested. He already hated this place. "Did you tell them they were going to die?" A nod as another thunderclap rocked the area, he was running out of time. "Did any of them understand you?" Number Two gave an offended grumble. "You got help? Whose helping you?"

Number Two quickly pulled someone into view of the screen. "Hello Emmet, this holo-phone is pretty cool."

"Jamison, Jamison is helping you?"

"Yes," Jamison said puffing out his chest, "I will prove myself to my newfound love and show to you all how helpful I can truly be. Just tell me what to do, anything. Just say the word and I'll do it."

"Can you evacuate the town?"

"I cannot do that."

Emmet felt his teeth grind and headache beginning to form. "And why can you not?"

"The people here have lived in this place for generations. They're stubborn and have survived too much to give it up now. They'd rather make this place their grave than make it a memory." Emmet sighed, as another roar came over the forest Jamison's eyes widened. "Is that my beloved? Is she in danger?"

He didn't have time for this. "Can't-zzzz-hear-zzzz-static…"

"I can see you making those sounds, Emmet."

Emmet just hung up and groaned, he was back down to two options. Helping the monster or helping the colossal gem mutant. He flew back into the air and saw that Jasper must have been gotten a second wind because she was slamming into the Colossus roaring at the top of her lungs. It didn't seem to be very effective considering the fact that neither was really letting up. But he'd seen gems get winded and falter, no matter how tough Jasper was she was still only one gem fighting a composite army. Without help she'd lose. And with that mindless thing running free eventually innocent people would lose too. He made a choice.

Flying up to the colossus' shoulder he turned on blaster mode and focused his energy into it as he landed. With a roar he fired causing the titan's head to turn from the sheer force of the blast. It was an exhausting blow that caused him to stumble and the gem just turned to look at him with barely a burn appearing to have barely even noticed the attack.

"Oh that is so not good."

He flew off the shoulder just as a massive hand came up to swat him off like a fly. The wind that came from the blow caused him to tumble through the air a bit. When he got his bearings back he saw that the behemoth had returned to chasing Jasper. It was hard not to feel a little offended at that but he got over it and started thinking of what he could do. From what he could see Jasper wasn't slowing down yet, which had terrifying implications as to how strong she actually was, but it also meant he had some time to plan. Looking around he spotted something that might help. He flew closer and saw that it was a huge plain of ice, a frozen lake in the middle of the forest. Perfect.

A plan had formed in his mind but completing it was going to be an issue. He'd need to use the arm's tractor beam but he hadn't been practicing with it as much as he should of. The thing was exhausting to activate and drained him pretty quickly. But he'd need it to pull what he needed to do off. But that also meant he'd need to turn off propeller mode, and he seriously doubted he could outrun the colossus. A honking in the distance brought his attention to something coming through the forest. He flew over and saw that it was a truck.

As he flew closer he found himself really hoping it wasn't who he thought it was.

"I will save you my love!"

Of course, freaking Jamison, why wouldn't it be. Emmet landed in the truck bed and saw through the back window to see Number Two was holding on to his seat with a death grip. He didn't blame him considering they were off road going through a forest and every bump nearly sent Emmet flying off. He knocked on the back window and Number Two slid it open while grumbling hysterically.

"I know, it's insane, you can apologize later. Right now I need your help though."

Jamison perked up. "You name it. I am your humble motorist. I can't wait to make a song about all this when we get back. You think that will impress my beautiful orange warrior?"

Emmet ignored his insane rambling. "We need to head towards that frozen lake."

"Giggle lake? Okay!"

"We need to grab your girlfriend first."

That caused Jamison's face to turn as red as a tomato. "I wouldn't say she's my girlfriend, I mean she could be, if she wanted, we'd need to talk, go on a few dates, but a house together, talk about kid's, they'd be called Jeremiah and Jolene, she could hunt while I compose at home and raise them, we'd grow old-"

"Jamison it was a joke, stop talking and head towards her!" Emmet shut he window with a slam and looked back up. He realized he hadn't told Jamison where to find Jasper. He then found that he didn't need to because she was sent flying in front of them, demolishing a few trees as she sailed through the forest. The truck swerved to turn and Emmet had to latch on to the truck beds side to avoid being flung off. The colossus was now behind them in its pursuit of Jasper. If the thing was terrifying from the air then it was a nightmare from the absolute darkest pits of human imagination form the ground. Looming over the forest like some sort of mythical nightmarish deity. He shook off his awe and focused on looking forward to where Jasper was shakily rising out of a crater she had made.

Her focus was on the colossus but when she spotted the truck her eyes narrowed in confusion. Emmet took advantage of her dropped guard and made his move. "Arm, activate tractor beam!" He felt the energy though his whole body pool into the arm and suddenly a beam of energy shot forward, encasing Jasper in a green bubble and levitating her off the ground. The beam from the arm pulled her through the forest alongside the truck.

"What is this? Let me out!" She roared as she pounded against the bubble. Emmet didn't really hear her, partially since the bubble muted her a bit and mostly because every one of his sense was fading quickly. It was like having his whole body in a press, the energy was slowly flowing out and leaving him empty like a tube of toothpaste. They'd need to move fast.

"Get to the lake!"

Either Jamison heard him or realized the next part of the plan because he turned and started to make a beeline for the lake, the colossus wasn't far behind. Holding Jasper was the most demanding thing he had ever done in his life. It didn't help that every time she pounded against the bubble it was like a thousand needles began piercing his body. He definitely couldn't hold this forever. Luckily he didn't need to, they broke free of the tree line and made it to the lakes shore. The truck skidded to a stop just before reaching the frozen water and Emmet used the sudden stop in motion to his advantage. Using the built up momentum he threw the robot arm forward and deactivated the tractor beam, sending Jasper sailing out on to the ice. She screamed as she began sliding across the lake grasping for a handhold.

Emmet used the momentum too to leap from the truck. He braced himself for the impact and grunted as he used his robotic fingers to cushion the fall into a roll. He hopped back up and jumped forward, using the robo-fingers to walk along the icy surface with speed and ease. Their grip holding as well as ever even on the slippery surface letting Emmet quickly move forward.

Jasper on the other hand kept sliding until she reached the center of the lake. When she finally stopped she noticed Emmet's fast approach and screamed.

"Who are you? You want to get crushed too?" Man, the Crystal Gems were not kidding when they called her a bloodthirsty brute. "Why do you have that limb enhancer?"

"It was a gift," he called out, "and shut up-"

"Or you'll do what human whelp?" She snarled.

"I'm not going to do anything," Emmet said just as the colossus broke through the tree line and rushed towards them. "That thing is going to ruin your whole day though."

The colossus spotted Jasper and quickened its pace. Emmet saw that Jamison must have driven the truck away because he couldn't see him anywhere. This was good because when the colossus took its first step unto the lake the ice began to shatter, sending a spider web of massive cracks throughout the entire lake's surface. The next step caused its foot to go right through the ice, causing it to stumble and try to use its arms steady itself. It reached down to use the ground as a grip, which didn't work on such a slick surface and only caused it to stumble more. All according to plan, but he'd need to capitalize on the mistake, fast.

He bit down his disgust as he turned to Jasper. "You want to beat that thing right?"

Jasper looked at him like he was a cockroach who had learned to speak. Disgusted with some morbid curiosity mixed in, she just grunted and began to head towards the struggling giant.

"You aren't going to beat it on your own." She didn't answer, Emmet followed on his robot fingers. "You won't be able to fight on solid ground for long. I lured it out here because of the water under the surface. You think you'll be able to fight that thing at the same level underwater?"

"I do fine underwater."

The subtext of the words nearly brought bile up to his throat. But he choked down his anger and disgust enough to find a little satisfaction in the fact that she had answered. That meant she was listening.

"But then you wouldn't have the advantage you need to win. And trust me you'll need it, because at this point you're going to lose."

That got her to stop. She turned and before he could react a hand shot out and gripped him by the neck. She lifted him up into the air with a growl and he began to choke.

"You think that mindless abomination can beat me? I am a Jasper, a gem warrior elite, servant to the order of the diamonds and greatest of their soldiers. I was born for this, I trained for this, and I won't be beaten by another disgusting fusion!"

Emmet felt like he would have had a snappy retort to that but he was too busy trying to breathe. He managed to get out a few words though. "Can't…lose…"

Jaspers scowl didn't disappear but she did raise an eyebrow before dropping him. He fell to the ice as he began to gasp for air. Jasper just crossed her arms and glared at him. "What did you say?"

He managed to begin breathing normally before looking up at her. "I said…you can't lose here. You losing is worse for me than it is for you. People are going to get hurt."

"What do I care if that colossal freak squashes a few of you human worms?"

"I didn't say you did, but unless you run away this day isn't going to end well for any of us."

Her eyes narrowed. "I do not run from a fight."

"Then win, or at least let me help you win."

"I do not need your help, insect."

This gem was going to be the end of him …and a lot of other people too at this rate. It seemed like he'd have to swallow some pride today too. "Fine, serve you then. A stepping stone to your victory inevitable victory, winning is all that matters right now isn't it?"

She actually looked like she was contemplating it. Emmet nervously looked at the gem colossus that seemed to be getting its bearings back. They needed to wrap this up quickly.

"I suppose I could allow you to serve me briefly. Just make sure none of your filth gets one me, human bug."

Emmet rolled his eyes." Whatever."

"What was that?"

Emmet groaned, this was almost not worth it. "I meant whatever you say," she growled and he resisted the urge to leave her right there to face the giant alone. The things he did for people. "I mean whatever you want… Master Jasper."

She had a smug grin that made him want to blast her in the face all five hand shots. "That's better. You're no Pearl but you'll do for now."

"Can we please fight now?"

"That's a good attitude, yes human slave watch your new master destroy this enemy."

Emmet pushed down the need to bring up how she had been doing with that so far and just activated the propeller arm. "Look, running on the surface right now is impossible for you. I can get us over there and you can finish the thing off while it's struggling.

She looked to be considering it before giving him an angry glare. "You think you're going to carry me over there?"

"I mean, that was kind of the plan." Emmet said before beginning to float a bit in the air. "Do you have a better one?"

"I will not be carried."

"So what are you going to do?" Emmet regretted asking the question as she grabbed both his legs in an iron grip.

"Fly, before I decide to squeeze."

He couldn't respond as he was biting down a scream while he increased the propeller speed. Jasper was very heavy, which became all the more obvious as they rose and he felt her full weight on his legs. He focused more energy into the propeller and flew them over to the still struggling colossus.

"It's gem is at the base of its neck." Jasper said as they circled it. "Get me close whelp."

Emmet grunted in effort as he maneuvered through the air. The Colossus seemed to have sensed their approach and attempted a swing. But the clumsy attempt just made it slip deeper into the water. Jasper laughed at the display.

"Ha, stupid freak, you should have joined me when you had the chance!"

Emmet realized that he really didn't like Jasper. But a plan was a plan so he flew over the colossus' head and began to take aim. He saw a glint in the sunlight. He quickly saw that it was the edge of the fused gem. The rest of it must have been covered by the many arms covering the monsters body. "I see it, prepare to drop!"

"Do not order me human worm!"

Emmet took immense satisfaction in the fact that he was about to drop her towards a horrible building sized gem mutant. He took a breath in, and he let a breath out as he aimed. And then wriggled his legs to signal Jasper to drop, she got the idea and with a malicious grin she let go of his legs and fell. She began to spin mid-air and hit the throng of arms like chainsaw. Emmet could only clumsily fly back to the lakes shore and collapse as he watched Jasper tear through the cluster of limbs to get to the gem underneath. He could hear her bloodthirsty roar from there and suddenly a loud crack echoed throughout the air. What followed was a sound like the world's biggest mirror shattering.

The colossus poofed and the air was filled with thousands of shimmering gem shards that fell all over the area. Emmet could only watch horrified, even as he heard a truck pull up from behind.

"Emmet," Jamison yelled from behind, "we came to get-what are these?"

"Gem shards," Emmet whispered as he grabbed a few from the ground. Gems couldn't die, not like humans died, he knew that. Shattering was as close as they got, and Jasper had shattered her enemy. No hesitation, no mercy, just annihilation. She probably hadn't even considered bubbling it. That was a horrifying thought, which reminded him that he had let the real monster win this fight.

They needed to leave, and they needed to leave now. "Jamison-"

"My beloved, like a siren from the sea you return from the depths!" Jamison interrupted. Emmet felt a cold chill crawl up his spine. He turned to see Jasper walk up unto the shore. She didn't look happy. Jamison ran up to her joyously only to be swatted into a nearby snowbank, he looked like he was out cold. Jasper hadn't missed a step.

"You, tech thief, I have questions."

Emmet tried to stand but his body wouldn't let him. The exhaustion form the battle was catching up to him and he was starting to see spots. Number Two tried to help him up but he wasn't fast enough as Jasper walked up and held Emmet up by the robot arm.

"How did you learn to use this arm? Where is the Peridot you stole it from?" Before Emmet could tell her to bite him she began to squeeze, hard. He screamed and only let up when she softened her grip just a bit. "Answer before I tear it off your body."

He couldn't sell Peridot out. Jasper would make her a target. The pain was getting bad though so he needed to say something. "The Crystal Gems, I found the arm and they taught me how to use it." Another squeeze caused him to start screaming again.

"You're one of Rose's? She's sending humans to do her dirty work? That is just pathetic. How did you find me?"

"Why do you think I was looking for you?" Wrong answer, the squeeze this time was so painful he nearly passed out. "Stop, stop, stop, I wasn't looking for you alright."

"You're lying!"

"I'm not, I swear, I was tracking corrupted gems in the area!"

Her eyes narrowed. "How are you tracking them? Are you still lying?"

The squeeze was incredibly painful. Despite the crazy science behind the arm it still felt like his arm, and he knew it would hurt the same if it got torn off. "The robonoid, I use the robonoid to track them! They picked up gem signatures in this area and I came to investigate. There's one in the truck right now."

Jasper effortlessly walked over to the truck while carrying him. She ripped a door off and reached in to grab the small robot. "You're using this? You can track gems on this miserable mud ball with this minor tech?'

"Yeah, if you had a brain you could probably figure it out."

She didn't drop him so much as toss him aside. Emmet landed with a grunt and lay there trying not to pass out. Looking at his arm he saw that there was now a hand shaped dent in it. Number Two was at his side comforting him as Jasper turned the robonoid over in her hands. She seemed to be debating something before looking over at Emmet and walking over. She towered over him as she threw the robot. He caught it in the chest with a grunt.

"I'm hunting the sad corrupted rejects that litter this pathetic little planet. You are going to lead me to them."

"Why?"

"A servant does not question their master's orders, you pathetic excuse for a drudge."

"I don't work for you, the Colossus is beaten, there's no reason to help you anymore."

"Keeping your life, for one," she said as she cracked her fingers menacingly.

She really expected him to betray his friends? To think he would help her just to save himself, she was disgusting. "Do what you want. Crystal Gems watch out for one another." He really wanted to get out of this alive. But he wouldn't do it at the cost of others, never at the cost of others. Being a hero really sucked sometimes. Jasper seemed to regard him strangely.

"A loyal soldier until the end, huh, that's fine." What, really? Was he getting out of this in one piece? "You may be willing to sacrifice yourself, but you're still only just a Crystal Gem. And all Crystal Gems have the same pitiful, moronic weakness." Emmet looked in horror as she reached down and picked up Number Two. "You care for things weaker than you."

For a single glorious moment Emmet felt the world change. There was no pain, fear or stress. He just had a singular purpose, one goal at the center of his existence that he needed to accomplish. Get Number Two away from this monster. He hadn't said or felt anything but somehow his arm was already in blaster mode. He didn't really notice though, all he did was roar at top of his lungs and thrust the arm forward.

The resounding blast knocked him backwards and filled the area with smoke. It took so much energy to fire that he could only lay on the ground and grit his teeth as he looked up to see if he had got her. As the smoked cleared though he could only drop his head down in despair as he saw that he had only knocked her back a few feet.

"Nice try whelp," Jasper said walking up to him. "But you're spent. There is no hope of beating me. Not now, and not ever. Now are you going to be a good little servant and follow your master's orders, or do I have to start popping bits off of your little friend here?"

Emmet could only look up at her with hatred, she just smirked back. She chuckled as Emmet squeezed his eyes and nodded his head. Squatting down, he could fully hear the smugness in her voice.

"Good, now human whelp, let's go hunting."

* * *

 **This chapter was a weird one to write. Originally I had it planned that Emmet would just have to give Jasper some information before being thrown aside and going their separate ways. Jamison was going to have a bigger role too but then I realized that Jasper was actually really interesting to write. If Peridot had more of an Invader Zim style egocentric wackiness going for her as an invader then Jasper was more Vegeta style brutality and arrogance. I'm still sticking to the shows plot and timeline so her end game remains the same. But I always found it weird how we never saw her adventures on earth. Where she traveled the globe to exotic and distant places only to then proceed to beat up the things living there and stick them in her weird zoo. Luckily the gap in time provides for some leeway before her showdown with Smoky Quartz and Peridot in the Beta kindergarten. So while she's holding Number Two hostage I hope everyone enjoys Jasper and Emmet's horrific safari.**


	15. Howling Winds

Deep breath, in, out, count to ten. One, two-

"He'll be fine whelp. We can use his vehicle to track faster, take the activation device from him."

Deep breath, in, out, count to ten. One, two, three-

"Of course they're reforming, but they're worthless to me now. Not my problem. Let the pathetic humans around here deal with them."

Deep breath, in, out, count to ten. One-

"You can rest and eat when I say you can. How needy can humans be? It's pathetic."

Deep breath, in, out, count to ten. One, two, three four,-

"You can see him when you find the trail again."

Emmet growled as he stopped the truck and hopped out. He walked along the side until he faced the back of the truck bed. Jasper sat there, eyeing him with annoyance.

"What is it?" She said it like a challenge. Probably meant it as one too, she had a way of making every single thing she did a show of dominance. Jerk. "Have something to say?"

Emmet grit his teeth and let out a shuddering breath. "Found something." He pointed to a nearby section of the forest that looked like it had been hit by a bulldozer. A straight path through the trees had been created with the ground torn up and splintered tree fragments everywhere. No earth animal could have done something like that.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"What was that?"

He didn't think he had ever hated anything as much as he hated her. "Yes…Master Jasper."

She just grunted and stood up, the truck groaned as she stood and shuddered when she hopped off. "Find the freak for me human. Be quick about it too or I might start getting hungry for melon."

"I'll need the robonoid."

"So you can call for help the second I'm away? No, go do it the hard way, worm."

Emmet grumbled as he headed down the trail. He thought of his options, but all his ideas on how to escape fell flat when he realized that Jasper had Number Two under tight wraps. She wouldn't let him go easy, or at all. He'd have to play along with her weird hunt until he could figure out a way to get Number Two and him both out of there safely. The trail went on for miles and as he hiked along it he wondered if he could somehow call the others for help. It was embarrassing sure but at this point that was the least of his problems.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't see the hole his foot dropped into before it was too late. Stumbling he sputtered as he looked to see that he had tripped over a massive footprint. Well he was definitely on the right track.

"Find something?" Emmet jumped as he saw that Jasper had snuck up on him. It was creepy how someone so big could move so quietly. He gestured towards the path. She just grunted and pushed him out of the way as she passed by. "Follow, but keep your distance, I don't want your stench anywhere near me."

"I don't want your stench anywhere near me," Emmet mimed in a mocking whisper.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, it was nothing."

"…"

"It was nothing…Master Jasper?"

Another grunt and they continued on their way. As Emmet continued of ways to get out of this mess they came across more footprints. It was double the number of the ones before.

"There are two of them here." That could be helpful, or it could be disastrous. The whole situation was such a headache. "The tracks head in different directions too."

"Then we split up, follow one of them and bring me its gem."

What? "Your letting me go off on my own?"

She was on him in moments, reminding him just how out of his depth he really was as she loomed over him. "If you do anything other than what I said, your friend pays for it. So go, now."

Right, the constant threat of offing Number Two, how could have forgotten. With a sigh he headed towards the forest, following the tracks. Today was not going his way. Honestly this whole trip hadn't gone his way. Although the irony of it all was that he was doing the exact thing he had been training to do, hunting corrupted gems. He was just doing it for a monster instead of his friends. At least it was a nice day.

Fresh snow had fallen overnight and it covered the woods. Every step he took made a satisfying crunch and the little light that made it through the clouds lit up the forest around him. It reminded him of a conversation he had with Pearl once. About why the gems did what they did. They loved the Earth, everything about it. The conversation had gotten a little weird when Steven had come in and begun to sing, the others had joined in too, but the message was clear. It was a nice planet to live. It was a good memory. He remembered it so clearly he could practically hear Pearl humming the song.

After a few more steps he stopped. He really could almost hear Pearl humming the song. Like really…his breathing quickened as he ducked behind a tree and pressed his back to it. He peeked around the tree to see that Pearl was just a few feet away. Humming away and looking around the forest.

What was she doing there? Had they come to look for him? He was flattered, a little miffed they hadn't called first, and terrified at the thought of Jasper seeing that she was here. Would she accuse him of somehow calling the gems? Would she hurt Number Two because of it? This whole situation was getting more complicated by the minute. Before he could decide what to do he heard a small crunch nearby. He looked over and froze.

There prowling within the trees was a corrupted gem. It was a huge beast the size of a truck that walked on all fours. It had a thick white mane of fur surrounding its rocky gaping mouth and was colored a sickly mixture of browns and oranges. The color scheme reminded him a bit of Jasper. It seemed to move without making noise like her too. It didn't seem to have noticed him so far. It looked more focused on…

Pearl

The monster pounced and Emmet's body moved before he had a chance to think. He barreled from cover and activated the arm's blaster mode with a shout. Pearl heard all the noise and turned to see the corrupted gem mid leap get blasted out of the air.

"What-?"

"No talk, fight now!" Emmet roared as the corrupted gem snarled and somehow flipped itself to land on its feet. It was skilled for a monster.

Pearl nodded and she aimed her spear before unleashing a barrage of energy blasts, Emmet joined in and together they decimated the tree line around the gem. As the smoke cleared there was no sign of it, save for a line of footprints leading off into the forest.

"It got away," Pearl said disappointedly. Emmet just hummed in agreement as they looked over the damage they had done to the forest. "We did quite a number on this place, a shame." She turned towards Emmet with her hands on her hips. Her concerned look turned into a stern one. He knew that look. He'd seen it whenever she was scolding Steven. "Well?"

Oh boy. "Well what?" He flinched internally as she raised an eyebrow. Good going, now she was even more peeved.

"You've been out of communications for more than twenty four hours. Peridot and Lapis were beginning to wonder what happened so they told us about your excursion here. The others and I thought it would be a good training mission for Connie and Steven to help look for you and check for the gem activity you reported in the area. So, disregarding the fact that you haven't been cleared for missions, or that you went alone, or that you have blatantly put yourself in harms risk, you should have at least let us know you were safe. What could you have possibly been thinking?"

Great, now he felt guilty in addition to completely terrified. He could only scratch the back of his head and sigh. "Sorry, Pearl. I got so into the hunt that other things sort of just…fell away."

Her stern glare softened fractionally as she sighed. "Well, at least you're safe. You can head back while I find this corrupted gem and then we can-."

"No!" He said suddenly before calming down and taking a breath as he saw Pearls surprise at the outburst. "I mean, I can help. I've been tracking it for a while now. It'd be a shame not to see this hunt though."

Pearl hummed unconvinced. "I don't know…"

Not good, not good, not good. Jasper would be in a murderous mood if she didn't get that gem. He needed to be there to snatch it when they took it out. "Look, I'm sorry. But I promise to stay out of your way and stick to support while we hunt the gems down." An idea suddenly struck him. "You know," he drawled, "I've never actually seen a Crystal Gem capture a corrupted gem before. It'd great to see a master in action."

That got her. He could see her smug grin before she quickly coughed and looked away. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. Watching me capture this gem does provide for an excellent learning opportunity. Aright, you may come, but only if you let me handle it."

"Okay."

She nodded and together they followed the gems tracks into the forest. As they walked Emmet couldn't help but worry. Jasper was somewhere in these woods, so were Steven and Connie. This could end very badly. He needed to get his friends out of there, fast.

Pearl seemed to have taken his silence as brooding instead of blind panic. She looked around awkwardly before coughing into her hand. "Well, Emmet, I realize that we have not had a chance to really talk since you joined us."

What? She was really doing this now?

"I know that this has been a trying time for you."

Oh no.

"And that your body going through some…changes."

Was there no mercy in the universe?

"So…I mean…how are you doing?"

"…fine."

They didn't talk for a few minutes after that. It wasn't long before Pearl pulled out some kind of walkie-talkie radio. It was shaped like…cookie cat?

She turned it on and spoke. "Hey you two, I found Emmet. He's fine."

A chorus of voices came out from the talkie before calming down. "Is Number Two okay too?" Steven said from the other side.

Pearl looked at Emmet and he shrugged. Crud, he needed a story, quick. "He stayed back at the town we slept in last night. He's fine."

Pearl nodded and repeated the message. "How are you two doing? Remember, you humans need to eat." She gave Emmet a pointed look as she said it causing him to blush furiously. They kept on looking and Emmet felt his nerves begin to fray.

"Where is this stupid mutant?!" He stomped his into the ground. He wished he hadn't left the robonoid back at the truck. He wished Number Two was safe. He wished Jasper was gone. So many wishes and literally no solutions, it was maddening. He kicked a nearby pile of snow and flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking he saw that Pearl was giving him a worried look.

"Are you alright?"

Emmet looked at her before willing his features to harden before brushing off her hand. "I'm fine." He kept walking forward. Pearl lagged behind. She seemed to be thinking about something. Soon she came forward and walked beside him.

"It's nice isn't it?" He looked at her confused just to see that she was eyeing the surrounding area fondly. "The trees, the snow, and the clouds here on the mountain, I mean. They are all so different yet they fit together so well. It reminds me of why we protect this planet." Emmet didn't really have a response to that, so he just let her continue. "Everything here is so different and changing, what we find to be normal one moment has become something else entirely new the next. Sometimes I find myself a little envious of Garnet. She can see the changes before they happen. Nothing is really new to her. It all just…falls into place.

She took a deep breath as she leaned down to grab some snow. Emmet noticed that it didn't melt in her hand. "And Amethyst has always been so good at going along with the changes. She's always been an adaptable one. Me though, I've never been one to change easily. That's one of the things I admire about humans, the way they changed." She chuckled at that and Emmet couldn't help but smile. He realized that he and Pearl hadn't really had any time to talk. She didn't seem to talk to any humans regularly. Why was she talking to him so openly then? Was it just because he was a part of the team? For the first time in days he felt something outside of stressed fueled panic. Curiosity.

It was also nice to have a conversation like this. "I thought you didn't like humans very much."

Pearl looked at him confused. "I like humans fine, not as much as Rose did, but they're as a part of life as everything on this planet. They change too quickly for my tastes though. A lifetime for them is a moment for us. I never saw the appeal in investing so much time into something that would fade so fast." She gave a small hum. "Sometimes though a human does something that lasts, I still remember how some of them fought with us during the rebellion." She began to look wistful before snapping out of it and looking over at Emmet. "You remind me of some them."

"How is that?"

"Adaptable, I suppose. And very brave for a human, I know you have had to deal with a lot of changes lately. But I'm sure you'll handle it fine. A little training should iron out the process just fine. Steven tells me you'll be ready soon."

"Hopefully, I just want I get to that point." It would be nice. He'd have to live long enough to get that training though.

"We'll see." She sighed as she looked around. "We aren't having any luck at all today are we?" Pearl raised the talkie and spoke. "Steven, Connie, I'm not having any luck finding this monster. We might have to return to the temple and regroup."

Emmet began to panic. This could derail his plans completely. Luckily Connie spoke up. "No, no, we can handle it! We're making great progress. We can definitely take care of this ourselves"

Pearl looked surprised before smiling. "Oh, well you sound confident. Carry on then. And remember Connie-"

"Stance wide, body lowered, I got it ma'am." Connie said.

"Balance is the key," Pearl said in a sing-song voice before lowering the radio.

Emmet frowned as they kept walking. "I can handle this hunt on my own too." He had fought a mutant colossus and horde. He could handle an overgrown cat. But Pearl just gave him a small smile as she shook her head.

"You're still learning. You'll get to the point where you can hunt alone but for now I think its best that you stick with the experts."

A nearby growl cut off any retort Emmet had lined up and together the two crouched and hid behind nearby snow mound. Carefully looking over the crest they saw the corrupted gem walking around a nearby clearing.

"Found it," Pearl said determinedly.

Emmet was relieved, he was also terrified. This was it, he'd need a plan. "What do we do?"

"Hmm, alright how about this, you stay back and watch the exit routes. I'll sneak up and try and take it out."

Emmet nodded, this was perfect. This would be his best chance to get the gem. "Got it, let's do it."

He moved back as she snuck forward. When they were in position she leapt out from cover and stabbed at the monster. They struggled back and forth as Emmet kept behind the tree line and moved accordingly with the fight. He needed to time this perfectly. Pearl slashed and dodged as the corrupted gem batted at her and snarled. Emmet took the moment to appreciate how Pearl fought. She wasn't as chaotic or spontaneous as Amethyst, she moved gracefully and precisely. Every movement counted and not strike was made without thinking. It was like watching a dance, on the icy floor she made it look like she was ice skating too. He felt twang of envy at Steven and Connie. He was learning to improvise and learn on the fly. Meanwhile they had a teacher showing them how to be real warriors.

Suddenly he heard horrible series of snapping and saw that Pearl had dodged the monster. Its momentum and the ice covered floor must have caused it to slip because it slammed into the tree line and was buried underneath the wood. This was his chance. Emmet bolted for the pile of trees. He ignored Pearl's calls and warnings as he leapt on top and began to dig. As he moved an especially heavy log he found it. The corrupted gem was pinned by some tree trunks and moved in a pitiful attempt to free itself. It snarled weakly as Emmet reached down and brushed his robot hand against its furry mane.

As the hair softly conformed against his hand he imagined how soft it must feel. It looked like the softest hair he'd ever seen. He found himself wishing that the hand could feel for what felt like the thousandth time. Just before willing the energy into the hand and sending a huge electrical current into the monster.

With a snarl it vanished with a poof leaving the large gem behind, Emmet quickly grabbed it with his human hand and changed his robot arm to gun mode. Now for the next part of his impromptu plan, he hoped that it'd work. He aimed the cannon at the side of the hole and fired multiple times. The blasts sent debris and ash everywhere creating a small smokescreen. When it cleared he had hidden the gem in his jacket and there was now am opening clear through to the outside of the hole. Peal ran up and pointed her spear only to find nothing.

"What happened?" She asked as she inspected the hole.

Emmet shrugged and kicked at the surrounding sticks in feign frustration. "It got away, I fired a few shots at it but it managed to escape. I'm sorry." The last bit came out more pathetic than he had wanted. The guilt of his lying was weighing him down way more than he had realized. He began to shiver and saw that it had begun to snow. It was coming down hard.

Pearl pursed her lips and let out a sigh. "I'm just glad you weren't hurt. What were you thinking? Charging in like that could have gotten you killed."

"I guess I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to help."

Pearl rolled her eyes. "You can't help if that thing eats you. So next time, stick to the plan, alright?"

Emmet nodded. "Sure thing, teach."

Pearl seemed to like the nickname and gave Emmet a small smile before noticing the snow. "Oh dear the weather has really taken a turn hasn't it? I better check on Steven and Connie."

She went off to make the call leaving Emmet to catch his breath and tap the gem under his jacket. How fast would this thing reform? He didn't want it in his jacket when it did. He needed to get it to Jasper, quick. Where was she anyway?

Pearl came back to him in a panic. Emmet felt a chill run up his spine at the sight of her fear. "They found the other corrupted gem, they're in danger."

Emmet nodded. "Go, I'll be right behind you. I'll keep to air just in case."

Pearl looked conflicted before nodding. "Okay, stay low, this weather is getting worse by the minute. Land if it gets too rough and I'll come find you once I help the others."

With that she bolted off and Emmet activated propeller mode. He took off and flew after Pearl, keeping her in view as he hovered above the trees. The storm was getting worse though and it was getting harder and harder to keep in the air. The wind buffeted him and every foot forward caused him to swing to the side. Having enough he just landed and took cover underneath a tree. He'd have to wait for the Pearl and the others to come get him. He realized that the arm could probably access the walkie-talkie radio's frequencies and began to work on that as the snowfall became a flurry. The area around him began to fade away in a screen of white as he hurried to try and get the right frequency. Soon enough though there was the sound of snow crunching underfoot nearby.

Emmet looked up. "Pearl, is that you?" No answer, Emmet felt his senses heighten as he felt the prickles of fear. "Steven? Connie? C'mon guys answer me, this isn't funny." After a few moments the sound grew louder and a shape appeared through the white. It was large, too large, and Emmet felt his hopes crumble. "Oh, it's you."

Jasper came forward, a sneer on her face as she crossed her arms. "Did you do what I asked?"

Wordlessly, Emmet pulled out the gem and tossed it over to her. She caught it mid-air and examined it. "Good, this one will do nicely."

"Are we done then?"

Jasper snorted. "Not even close, worm. This is just a start. Let's go." She began to walk away, gems in hand, before Emmet stood up.

"I want to see him." Jasper stopped for a moment before she kept walking, Emmet hurried after her. He pushed against the heavy winds and snow, trying to ignore the freezing cold that cut through the jacket. "I'm serious."

"You're in no position to make demands, worm."

"And you have no idea where to go next without me." That got her to stop. She turned to face him and he only had a moment to enjoy the small victory before being slammed against a tree.

"Was that a threat?"

"It's a fact," he choked out, "I want to see him."

She snarled before dropping him. He gasped for air, which didn't help much as every gulp felt like he swallowing a handful of sharp icicles. Looking up he saw Jaspers gem glow and she seemed to reach into it before pulling out a shivering Number Two. Emmet felt relief mixed with his fear. But before he could tell his little buddy everything was going to be fine another light blurred his vision. When he looked again Number Two was gone.

"You saw him, let's go." Jasper said as she continued walking.

Emmet felt rage, unbearable rage as he gritted his teeth. The anger bubbled and he lashed out slamming his robot arm into the tree he was leaning on, snapping it in half. He felt his anger fade as the tree collapsed, it was replaced by despair. He looked back in the direction Pearl had run. Wondering if there had any chance to have had them help him. If maybe it would have been smarter to have come clean earlier and have them all face Jasper together. It wasn't the first time he had thought what-if. He knew it wouldn't be the last. But what mattered is what he would do now.

He brushed himself off, turned around, and began to trudge after Jasper through the snowstorm.


End file.
